
Class _^^:?2^ 
Book J 'r 



(x)p}TightN°.. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



A TRIP THROUGH BIBLE LANDS 
AND EUROPE 



Copyright Iiy i]r„, F. Oliver 
Louden & riaiHiigum J'l-ess. 



lil-. 



t 




A TRIP THROUGH BIBLE 
LANDS AND EUROPE 



A JOURNALISTIC RECORD OF A TOUR MADE 
IN THE SUMMER OF 1914, JUST BE- 
FORE THE WORLD-WIDE WAR 



BY 



GEORGE R OLIVER, D. D. 



CHAMPAIGN. ILLINOIS 

LOUDEN & FLANINGAM PRESS 

1915 






^S-^ 



DEC 30 1915 
©CU420118 



PREFACE 

THE pages of this book are a journalistic record of 
an auspicious tour taken just before the world- 
wide war of 19 14. The book does not attempt 
extended discussions of places or people. It does contain 
the author's impressions and conclusions growing out of a 
traveler's observations in the countries traversed. The 
writer believes that there are many readers of like taste 
with himself who will obtain pleasure from the facts and 
incidents mentioned. Our travel letters from abroad were 
read with such interest as to inspire the hope that a fuller 
book account at this epoch of history will prove a wel- 
come addition to travel literature and Bible study. 

Our party was small and our conductor experienced. 
His personal sympathy and presence throughout the trip 
insured the largest possibilities for the time occupied and 
places visited. The date of our journey was the most 
attractive in the world's history. 

A condensed itinerary follows which may guide the 
reader in the selection of chapters as outlined also in table 
of contents : 

The Atlantic Ocean, Azores, Strait of Gibraltar, 
Algiers (Africa), Sardina, Naples, Straits of Messina, 
Greece, Athens, Mediterranean Sea, Alexandria and 
Cairo, Goshen, Suez Canal and Port Said (Egypt) ; the 
Holy Land and Damascus, Baalbek and Beirut (Syria) ; 
Patmos, Vathy, Smyrna, the Dardenelles, Sea of Marmo- 



ra, Constantinople, the Bosporus (Turkey) ; the Balkans 
including Sophia (Bulgaria), Belgrade (Servia), the Dan- 
ube, Hungary and Dalmatian Alps ; Fiume and the Adri- 
atic Sea ; Venice, Florence, Rome, Pisa, Genoa, Milan and 
lakes of Italy ; Switzerland and her lakes and mountains ; 
Germany and the Rhine ; Holland and the Hague ; Bel- 
gium, her cities, her grottos and her Waterloo ; France 
Paris ; the English Channel, London, her parks and 
museums. 

The illustrations have the special merit of being 
nearly all original views taken by the author or under his 
direction, though not always under the most favorable 
circumstances. 

The "Question Chapter" and "Our Journey in 
Rhyme" are supplemental but furnish a key to the main 
story of the book. By many they will be read with profit 
before the other chapters are perused. 

G. F. O. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Crossing the Atlantic i 

II. Algiers, Naples and Messina .... 12 

III. Rural Greece and Marble Athens . . 19 

IV. Ancient Ruins and Modern Customs . 27 
V. Egypt's Pyramids and Shops .... 38 

VI. In and About Cairo 47 

VII. Going Up to Jerusalem 55 

VIII. The Temple and Calvary 62 

IX. Beyond the Walls -j^ 

X. Over Hill and Plain to Nazareth . . 89 

XL Nazareth and Galilee 98 

XII. Damascus the Ancient ...... 11 1 

Xin. Baalbek and Beirut 119 

XIV. Constantinople and the Turk . . . . 130 

XV. Through the Balkans 143 

XVI. Venice and Florence 151 

XVII. Rome Yesterday and Today . . . . 163 

Xyill. Northern Italy ^173 

XIX. Through Alpine Mountains and Down 

the Rhine 180 

XX. Holland and Belgium 190 

XXI. Paris the Fashionable 201 

XXII. London the Great 206 

XXIII. A Question Chapter 216 

XXIV. Our Journey in Rhyme ,. 225 




I. 

CROSSING THE ATLANTIC 

\0K many years it was the dream and hope of the 
writer to make the trip to Bible Lands which he 
now attempts to record. The novelty of the first 
journey abroad has greater interest for him who makes 
the trip than for those who read about it ; nevertheless, as 
public address is of value largely because of the individu- 
ality of the speaker, so this story may have special value 
because of its personal viewpoint and conclusions. With 
some desire for recreation, my chief purpose has been to 
fieshen conceptions of the Bible story, renew memories 
of historic study, and absorb missionary and civic facts. 
The purpose of my journey was providentially favored by 
the arrangement secured. Ours was the Palestine Party 
conducted by Dr. Ray Allen, Rochester, New York. 

We sailed out of Bush Dock, New York, on board 
the S. S. Martha V/ashington, March 21st under the miost 
fortunate conditions. Our Austro-American vessel with 
six hundred steerage and two hundred cabin passengers 
furnished an interesting study, if not companionship, for 

I 



the fifty-two first-class passengers, half of whom were 
made up of our party of Bible Land tourists. 

Going abroad is a little like dying, so far as separa- 
tions are concerned. Friends and native shores recede 
and thoughts turn toward the distance. As we were 
leaving the wharf, a party of three, careless of the warn- 
ing given, found themselves belated and shut off from 
shore as the gang plank had been pulled. They ran for the 
exit but were too late. They cried to the captain for help 
to get off the ship. Their useless pleadings, which vv^ere 
later respected by the captain in his own way, taught us 
a moral lesson. We watched the harbor boat that had to 
be summoned while our ship was delayed that the unfor- 
tunates might be transferred, a serious expense for care- 
less postponement and disregard of "orders from above." 

After scanning farewell letters and reminders from 
loved ones, and exploring his new residence, the traveler 
begins to adjust himself. Congenial companionship for- 
bids loneliness. The social life of shipboard stimulates, 
while the soporific air makes eating a pleasure and sleep- 
ing a prolonged luxury. Though constrained by the 
limits of the vessel and hedged in by the dimensions of 
one's berth, there is freedom from care and opportunity 
for private and social life that belong alone to the sea. Se- 
clusion and quiet furnish a special inspiration to one who 
loves to commune with nature and nature's God. A stud- 
ent of Bible truth headed for Bible lands finds- unwonted 
pleasure in the lessons furnished by such Scripture as the 
23d and I2ist of the Psalms. Fear is banished as one 
reads of Peter's fright in the presence of the waves, but 
who sank not, because of his Master's voice and his 
Master's hand. 



Meditation on some good advices given, helps pass 
the time and prevent the ills so many expect when first 
launched upon the deep. One of the best counsels, which 
was well tested in this tour and may be of suggestive value 
to others, runs as follows : "To have a good time at sea, 
be natural, shun remedies, forget care, trust God." This 
spirit enables one to prove the joy of faith and the 
strength of the promise, "I will both lay me down in 
peace, and sleep : for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in 
safety." The distant and muffled throbbing of the great 
engine reminds us of the ceaseless care of Him who never 
slumbers. 

We left port on Saturday. Sunday brings the privi- 
lege of our first sermon on shipboard, which is heard with 
interest by a select audience. The average traveler is 
neither very religious nor studious ; possibly because 
pleasure and business figure foremost in the ordinary 
tourists thoughts. To keep a gracious and grateful spirit 
and seek opportunities of lifting others' burdens would 
make strangers less mindful of their own weal and more 
careful of others' woe. To leave the superior comforts of 
the first cabin and speak, through an interpreter, a Gospel 
message to the crowded steerage herd below starts a new 
appreciation of one's home atmosphere of liberty, soap 
and prayer. 

A ship well furnished, to the passenger at sea, is a 
little world in itself, and a first trip passenger finds it a 
new world indeed. Our Austrian captain has been in 
charge of this ship four years. He speaks six languages, 
is courteous and respectful of the comforts of his pas- 
senger crowd ; as are also his four associate officers. The 
discipline of the seafaring crew makes him a man to be 

3 



respected as well as trusted. His orders are law. The 
Austrian flag at masthead represents the Government. 
RebeUion is crime and arrests can be made for any viola- 
tion of law. 

Our Marconi operators receive wireless messages 
from the ever-active and sensitive machines, operated 
night and day. These keep us in touch with receding 
shores and with the whole world. If patronage will not 
justify the expense of several thousands per year, the 
wireless information is not printed but is only posted on 
occasional bulletins or treasured in the officers' records for 
their own guidance and pleasure. A daily news sheet, 
printed on the largest steamers, is a very common bond 
of union with the outside world while crossing the bound- 
less, but not trackless, sea; for ship lines have their ap- 
pointed paths in mid-ocean almost as well defined as rail- 
roads upon land. 

Competing steamship lines are jealous of their hon- 
ors and proud of their records. Happy for the traveling 
public of all continents that since the Titanic iceberg 
tragedy of recent years, a new standard of safety rather 
than speed is coming into favor. A wonder of modern 
days is found in a statement that a great North Atlantic 
passenger line, among many millions carried in seventy 
years, has never lost a soul by accident. Another adver- 
tises only one person lost in 800,000 passengers carried in 
the past twenty years. It is not surprising that ocean 
travel is becoming so in<:reasingly popular, for a well built 
ship cannot sink at sea, and steamship rivalry makes it 
possible to secure passage, cabin comforts and meals, 
medicine, library, gymnasium, music, fresh air, tonics and 
servants equal to the best hotels and at a cost less than 

4 



Pullman car-fares, as a strong inducement to make the 
trip across the seas. 

What a debt we all owe to the primitive sailors and 
to Columbus, who, as a daredevil, kept his tubs above 
water and mastered his men so as to make them stay with 
him to the day of discovery ! The progress we have made 
in these centuries is impressed upon the thoughtful tourist 
as he gazes at the life-boats, notes the movements of the 
watchmen and studies the facilities for the comfort and 
health of passenger and crew. 

The charts on shipboard are a source of constant 
interest and wonder to the watchful passenger. Those 
who wish may learn of the ocean, the winds, the magnetic 
variation of the compass, the ice and fog areas, the 
changes of climate, the location of the patrol boats ; 
though the average passenger leaves these valuable points 
of information to the captain. From our journal I take 
the memorandum of one day's log, which is bulletined 
daily, as a sample of the information given the tourist 
who cares to mark the facts : "March 23. Latitude 40 
degrees, 10 minutes ; N. Longitude 35 degrees, 59 minutes ; 
W. Course S. 89. Distance 361.8 miles. Average speed 
15.39 miles. Thermometer 56, Barometer 29.6 degrees. 
Wind N. N. W. 4. Sky cloudy. Sea N. E. quarter." In 
addition to this our party are favored with a daily lecture 
on nautical, geographical or historic matters of special in- 
terest to the company of tourists who gather about our 
conductor. His many trips across the sea and through all 
countries maks him a court of information and appeal sel- 
. dom found by travelers. To this, there is added his per- 
sonal interest in the small company who are ready to do 
his bidding as well as take his suggestions. 



Time passes rapidly and every twenty-four hours* 
travel marks a change in the ship clock and one is daily 
obliged to change his private timepiece, turning it forward 
or backward a half hour or more according to distance 
traveled east or west. 

He who cares, may join us in a visit with the stew- 
ard, guide and engineer to the engine room and the 
stokers' work-shop thirty feet below the water line. To 
explore the ship is to make a world tour in itself. We pass 
the steerage cabin, walk down the narrow stairway and 
upon grated floors far below the water's edge. We study 
the engine pistons upon which our progress depends. The 
electric motors, the ice plants, the pumps, the boilers, the 
stokers who work in turns day and night without ceasing, 
all tell of the forethought of captain and ship owners on 
behalf of the traveling public. How little thought is 
given by the public for these men who slave for the sake 
of the cargo and passengers aboard ! But the rest given 
at periods to the machinery as a necessity for its life as 
well as to the laborers, reminds us of the law of the divine 
Sabbath which was made for man. 

I clip this from my journal to show a little of the life 
on shipboard across the Atlantic : "Sea long today, calm 
and beautiful sailing. The vessel rocks as it is lightened of 
its ballast of coal in firing. Crew painting the masts. How 
careless of peril, these "steeplejacks," but faithful sailors 
and governed by rule and habit! Wind calm as a sum- 
mer morning. Clouds fleecy. What a home spirit per- 
vades our party family ! Four days at sea makes us feel 
as if we had known each other for years. Very few 
meals missed by any. Luxurious feeding : six courses for 
breakfast, nine for luncheon, ten for dinner, with tea and 

6 



crackers served on deck twice a day besides ! Too much 
luxury. For recreation, spent an hour today in deck golf ; 
later with deck quoits ; thirteen times around the deck 
for exercise. Devotions in cabin and the reading of the 
103d of the Psalms brings a grateful atmosphere, and 
one of trust, to the heart who loves to commingle prayer 
and correspondence, conversation and good diet, nature 
study and curious inquiry, both for profit and diversion. 
The 'Captain of our salvation' is also a fine sea captain. 
His counsel and company make a sea trip a 'bon voyage' 
indeed. A new text opens today : Mark 8 137 — 'He hath 
done all things well.'" 

We are traveling at the rate of three hundred sixty- 
tour miles daily. Constant change of time produces a queer 
sensation upon one unused to it. Many water marks 
guide the officers of the ship, and by them, we may reckon 
at any time just where we are in relation to port and 
other vessels. These water marks are quite as dependable 
as the land marks on shore. The compass, the chart, the 
chronometer, the revolutions of the engine, the sun and 
stars, all help locate the ship at sea. Only in fogs is a 
ship likely to be "lost" ; and it is these that cause the 
greatest peril to seamen. The fog horn at sea is the most 
alarming and disconcerting sound that greets the tourist. 
Alarm signals occasion unrest; but in emergencies, the 
submarine warning bell system furnishes sure protection. 
This device by which the light ship calls danger ten to 
fifteen miles under water, where fog signals could not be 
heard more than a short distance, is a triumph of modern 
invention. 

Let us take a trip with the captain to the bridge 
where the officers in four-hour relays, resort to guide the 

7 



vessel and guard the safety of the passengers and cargo. 
Here is the new barometer with an automatic record run- 
ning a full week till rewound, showing the pressure of the 
air and the conditions of the atmosphere for many miles 
about. The double compass, the telephone systems, 
remind us how far we have distanced the sailing vessel 
of the early centuries. We are shown an automatic 
fire life-saving apparatus. -If a man fall overboard the 
warning is given and the life-line is dropped at once, and 
the fire falls upon the ocean, where it burns from twenty- 
five to thirty minutes until the lifeboat can reach the spot 
where the man has fallen. How the outlook increases as 
we rise towards the clouds ! Five miles are visible from 
the passenger deck ; ten miles from the bridge's lookout, 
and fifteen miles from the masthead. 

Let us thank the deck steward for a copy of a pro- 
vision sheet which shows the quantity of everything need- 
ed for supplying of boat, passengers, officers and crew, 
for a single trip across the ocean from New York to 
Trieste, Austria. It will entertain us to note that the 
moderate size steamer must take in ballast, 1450 T. of 
coal; 800 T. of fresh water — double the amount of water 
necessary, to provide for emergencies. The amount of 
flour, cigars, wine, poultry, meat, etc., for eight hundred 
fifty people for a ten days' trip causes us to wonder. A 
whole city's supply stores are here condensed and pre- 
pared with forethought. Such provision for our bodies 
throws light upon the meaning of such promises as, "My 
God shall supply all your need according to His riches in 
glory by Christ Jesus." Indeed, this is a Bible school as 
well as a school of science. 

But we are near the Azores, a possession of Portugal, 
8 




Passing the Sphinx and P3 ramid Cheops. 




Entrance to the Museum, Cairo. 



two thousand miles from New York. This quarter mil- 
lion of people of peasant Portugese, seventy-five per cent, 
of whom cannot read, are a peaceful, isolated, industri- 
ous, clean and moral, though ignorant, class of strangers. 
These inhabitants of the Hawk Islands, including Fayal 
and Peco, are living on a strange volcanic formation, in a 
beautiful climate with an average temperature of sixty- 
five degrees. Its fertile fields on terraced mountain sides 
run down to the clififs over which are spread many little 
water-falls. It is eight hundred miles to Portugal and 
one thousand miles to Gibraltar. Our glasses are brought 
out and the mountains, gardens, farms, foaming water- 
falls and church spires form a charming landscape. 

We are soon in the harbor of Horta ; but the rain 
begins to fall and the heavy rain and agitated sea prevent 
the landing of our party. The yellow quarantine flag, the 
Portugese, the Austrian and the U. S. Marine blue flag 
are all shown in the harbor. A large motor boat meets 
us ; also a row boat with officers to take mail and a few 
passengers who must land in spite of the weather. We 
get a fine view of the mountain streams, and the volcanic 
rocks with their waving mountain lines against the sky. 
Hedge fences around garden spots adorn the white and 
clean cottage homes which dot the hillsides and extend 
far up towards the mountain peaks. Peco (the peak) 
is opposite Fayal and rises seven thousand feet from the 
level of the sea and looses its head in the clouds that hood 
its skyward brow. Guia is a segment of a volcano sixty 
feet across. In the distance we can see the grape ter- 
races, the grazing cows, the wind-mills upon the hill and 
the old ruins of forts. Now the sun shines out and a 
rainbow falls first prostrate upon the water, then in small 



segments of sky line, very distinct, and striking to the eye 
of even the most experienced travelers. It is a charming 
diversion to watch the spray of the waves dashing along 
the abrupt cliff of the island or rushing through tunnels 
of rock. We are leaving the islands, followed by a flock 
of sea-gulls, and soon pass into a calm beautiful night 
where the sun sets in glory, and the stars come out for the 
first time since we left our- New York port. Observa- 
tions of stars and sun supplement the calculations by 
sextant and box, so that the seamen as well as passengers 
welcome the starlit sky as they are pleased with the shin- 
ing of the sun. 

He who travels the sea is careless indeed of the best 
sights if he fails to wait and watch the sun set in the clear 
sky and the sun rise in a clear dawn. In two minutes and 
forty seconds the sun sinks into the ocean like a great 
golden eagle when, it may be, the fringe of fleecy clouds 
crowns it all with changing halos. Our ship is wonderful 
as a minature world, but the sea and sky are God-made 
and surpass all else in panoramic grandeur. The Bible 
reveals both God and man. If faith removes mountains 
and plants them in the midst of the sea, who planted the 
Portugese Azores in the great Atlantic? Alas, for the 
faith that cannot even pull a sycamore tree out of root ! 
How much of this futile faith we see in the priest-ridden 
and self-indulgent religions that have, after centuries 
of Gospel light and Bible teaching, dwarfed the life of 
whole nations. 

Another perfect day with ideal ocean, brings us 
near the great Mediterranean Sea, the most important 
body of water on earth. It is two-thirds as long as the 
Atlantic is wide. It is the birthplace of history. It has a 



ragged margin and is twenty-five hundred miles long and 
from six hundred feet deep near Gibraltar to fourteen 
thousand in the Ionian Sea. It is the center of history in 
all centuries. It is the area of Phoenician maritime life 
and Bible history from iioo B. C. to the present day. 

Rising early we are again thrilled by the glory of the 
sun "with healing in his wings." Six ships appear in 
sight. We are nearing the strait of Gibraltar and the 
Great Sea. With our glass we behold for the first time 
the Spanish coast with villages. Tarifa comes in view. 
How barren the cliffs and hedged fields lining the moun- 
tains, though grass and growth appear ! Not so with the 
African coast, where Tangiers comes in sight and the 
range of territory occupied by the French and where 
Moorish watch towers crown the heights and remind us 
of the two great continents toward which we sail. 

Look at Gibraltar yonder, rising with a rocky front, 
a monument and a symbol for all the ages. At a cost 
of two hundred fifty million dollars, the English Govern- 
ment has turned its abrupt peaks and bluffs into a fort 
and interminable barracks. What a shifting crown of 
fleecy cloud, like a bridal hood, now settles down upon it ! 
Again it lifts, revealing the coasts of Spain and Africa 
four to six miles distant on either side. Gibraltar towers 
fourteen hundred feet and has on its northeast side a roof 
of concrete to bring rain water to the barren fort which 
honeycombs the top of the rocky cliffs. Old Gibraltar 
stands like a defiant giant and is the wonder of the world. 
Did Hercules plant her foundations? A greater than he 
laid her base and raised her peaks ; monarch of all nations, 
a tribute everlasting to our Father and our God. 



n. 
ALGIERS, NAPLES AND MESSINA 

ABOUT 3 P. M., Mar. 31, we are steaming into Al- 
giers, Africa. A great stone wall forms a break- 
water to protect the harbor. The crescent bay, 
distant hillsides with beautiful residences, and the water 
front crowded with great commercial houses form a most 
charming picture. After a visit from the quarantine of- 
ficer, our party are taken into a launch and we are soon at 
the dock. Our friend, Dr. E. F. Freese, superintendent of 
the Methodist Episcopal missionary work in north Africa, 
has been notified and stands in waiting to welcome us. 
I become his guest for the afternoon and evening while 
Dr. Allen takes charge of the rest of the party for a visit 
about the city. Two mosques with Moslem worshipers, 
many loungers about the streets, an ancient cathedral, 
native and French shops, a Moorish fort, and the mongrel 
city crowd in the streets and alleys, remind us that we 
have entered a strange land. 

Soon, in company with Dr. Freese, we are in a tram- 
way winding up the hillside to visit the girls' 
hostel or mission house. -"We will get off" he said, "at 
the Inn of the Two Stubborn Ones" ; and when we land, 
there upon the face of the tavern is the explanation of the 
name. A haltered mule, one of the stubborn ones, is pul- 
ling against the other one, who is as determined and about 

12 



as hard to overcome, from the artist's point of view, as 
the mule. It is a woman puUing against a beast. The 
sign is the first announcement in Oriental lands of the 
degradation of woman in the thought of the people. We 
will ascend to the school where they are preparing for a 
bazaar. The teachers meet us in a flower covered yard 
and welcome the missionary and his friend. A brief visit, 
the songs of the student girls, the sacred atmosphere of 
this Christian home where the girls from pagan and Mo- 
hammedan families are lifted into ideals of Christian life 
and learning, impress us at once with the value of Chris- 
tian mission work in the midst of a degenerate Moslem 
religion. Alas ! for the sad and desperate home life which 
we meet in the Mohammedan countries everywhere ! A 
similar contrast we find in the boys' school a little further 
down the hillside. The flowers, the sunshine, and the 
ministry of Gospel service and sacrifice in these schools 
reveal the worth of a pure religion as compared with the 
fruit of superstition and sin. 

As my friend takes me by the arm for a walk among 
the dens of vice, shows nie the forts, the gambling 
natives, the French aristrocracy, wrecks of the former 
greatness of the Moors, the drilling of the Zouaves, the 
native loafers and the babel of languages to be found in 
this commercial seaport, I seem to have entered a colossal 
picture show. Later, when he brings me in a carriage to 
his own Christian home where we talk of social and 
religious conditions and past friendships in our native 
land, I fancy what it will mean to the tourist who arrives 
in heaven to meet a welcome which will bridge earth and 
sky with holy memories. 

My associates have had some strange and perplexing 
13 



experiences but have landed aboard our vessel before me. 
Piloted through the dark waters, I am safely landed by 
my guide, where we continue our journey out into the 
Mediterranean on our way to Naples. April ist is a day 
of beauty on a quiet sea. A cablegram has been sent by 
our conductor to our friends in America announcing our 
safe arrival. Our cabin worship and Bible reading increase 
our gratitude and lend us to covet more earnestly than 
hitherto, for information, inspiration and future help, the 
maximum of what we were ready to call "divine traveling 
grace." 

April 2nd, in the bright sunshine and with calm sea, 
we have passed Sicily and are nearing Naples, where we 
arrive in the early afternoon. Before reaching this most 
beautiful bay of the world, we pass the Islands of Ichsia, 
a point of which is called in Acts 28:13, Puteoli. This 
is where Paul landed on his first journey to Rome. It is 
a small Italian port back from the point projecting into 
the sea. It is the first of the Bible towns of the many 
we shall tour. Perhaps I should except Tarshish in Spain 
which we have left many hundred miles behind us and 
towards which Jonah started from Joppa ; but which for 
well known reasons, he failed to reach. 

Long before coming into the Bay of Naples, we sight 
Vesuvius, the great and famous volcano which over- 
whelmed Herculaneum and Pompeii in A. D. 79. Smoke 
hovers over its crater, which a later setting siin covers 
with an evening glory of fiery gold in mingled cloud and 
smoke. What a calm and lovely bay is Naples ! Here 
is the island of Capri on one side; and before us, sail- 
boats dot the peaceful waters in all directions, while 
various vessels of other nations crowd her docks. The 

14 



city rises against the hills and seems to be made of lofty- 
business blocks, old castles, churches and cathedrals, and 
terraced residences of Oriental type arranged in crescent 
form above the bay. 

There is no hurry now. Our ship makes slow pas- 
sage towards the dock. It is met by Italian venders of 
fruit and flowers. On a long pole the boquets are pushed 
for sale up to the passengers on deck. Boy divers are 
about the ship calling for a shilling or lesser coin which, 
if thrown into the water, they invariably dive for and 
bring up either in their toes or fingers. Placing the 
money in his mouth and sitting upon his boat, the diver 
clamors for another coin and offers another plunge into 
the chilly water. At last we are permitted to walk the 
gangway and follow our conductor, who pushes the 
guides away and lands us among the carriage men who 
take us to the National Museum. Our time is short, but 
we visit the ''Hercules," "The Captive Bull," "Father 
Nile," and study the Pompeiian exhibits of paintings and 
mosaics exhumed and framed as relics of the buried city. 
In this museum are more objects of art, illustrations of 
Pompeiian social and home life, than are to found in 
Pompeii itself. One room is well guarded and from it, 
women are excluded. It is explored with poignant aver- 
sion, for it reveals the cause of the downfall of the 
Roman Empire in the early centuries of the Christian era. 

A tiamway trip through the city shows its customs, 
its streets, its people. Naples is a conglomerate of an- 
cient and modern life. Ox carts, mule teams, street-cars, 
carriages and autos, dog carts and goat herds, poverty 
and riches are mixed in a strange medley about the shops 
and stores. Here we see an ox, a mule and a horse, 

15 



all three yoked to one cart. Women are seen hauling 
heavily loaded carts which should be drawn by horses. 
In the narrow streets and busy marts, business men, street 
venders and dray wagons crowd each other to the wall 
and exhibit the competition and contrast of life in modern 
Italy. 

To lovers of nature, it is more agreeable to visit the 
Aquarium, the best if not the greatest in the world. Here 
is strange stuff, the making of nature's own hand. It is 
worth while to see some things that are grown only in this 
climate. The eels, the electric fish, the sea horses, the 
nautilus, the game crabs, the multiform varieties of fish 
that live only in southern waters, combine to make a 
nature study of lasting impression. We loiter through 
the park adorned with palms and along the boulevard of 
the bay where the flowers bloom and pedestrians wander. 
The cowled monk and gowned beggar compete with car- 
riage men and all kinds of venders in plying their trade 
upon the tourists who are supposed to be the best patrons. 

At 9 P. M. our boat is steaming out of the harbor. 
Enchanted by the lights along the shore of this bay of 
beauty, our party will be pardoned if they gather on deck 
and spend an hour in sacred and patriotic hymns. "See 
Naples and die" says one writer; but we expect to live 
and see it again, perchance. Certainly we shall not forget 
its charm and the riches of its artistic and ancient sights. 
We must say an early good-night to each other and rise 
at 5 A. M., that we may have a good view of StromboH, 
a smoking volcano near the head of Messina Straits. 
Yonder it rises three thousand feet above the sea, belch- 
ing smoke again and again. At its base and next the 
sea is a quiet village, sure to be destroyed if ever this 

i6 





Messina Straits, Italy. As seen from ship. 





Temple of Jupiter, Athens. 



volcano should grow angry and disgorge lava like Vesu- 
vius. But the people live in peaceful unconcern as do the 
multitudes everywhere, though otherwise imperiled, in 
the midst of familiar dangers all about them. 

A little later we are in sight of Mount Etna on the 
shores of "Sweet Sicily." We watch long until its snow- 
capped, hazy crown and sides fade away. Later, as we 
pass down the Straits, we reach Scylla on the left and 
Charybdis on the right, perhaps five miles apart. The 
sun is rising in morning glory upon the Straits and soon 
brings Etna again to our vision. We have scarcely time 
for breakfast. We hurry back on deck to watch through 
our glass the snowy sides of Etna and the charming peak 
.which rises 10,938 feet and emits above her white robe, 
curling volumes of steady smoke. The heat melts the 
snow near the crater, leaving a picturesque view rarely 
seen anywhere in the world, of a giant gowned as a scare- 
crow of the gods. 

Our morning ride through Messina reveals the evi- 
dences of the great earthquake of 1906, when perhaps 
almost one hundred thousand people lost their lives by 
the convulsion and the incoming tides of the sea. This 
city which enlisted the sympathy of the whole world, has 
still many temporary homes. Plaintive thoughts are 
awakened while we recall the sufferings of these humble 
people who lost their all "by the act of God" and, to this 
day, are unable to answer why. 

We are nearing another Bible port, now called Acre 
or Reggio, which is the Rhegium of Acts 28:12-24, where 
Paul stopped for a day on the way to Puteoli and Rome. 
What barren slopes with beautiful terraced fields and vil- 
lages along the foot-hills and seaside ! Our minds run 

17 



back to the days of Caesar and the Phoenicians, of Paul 
and his companions. What a wealth of story gathers 
about these shores shadowed by craggy peaks and fringed 
by vineyards and church spires ! Their history furnishes 
fitting themes for evening chat as well as inspiration for 
mellow dreams and midnight fancies. 

We leave Italy and the Straits for a trip eastward 
across the Ionian Sea. Here the water is two miles deep 
and the waves are heavy. We are headed toward Patros 
where we shall see Greece early in the morning. We shall 
soon bid good-bye to our Martha Washington ship which 
has won our admiration, if not our love, for her splendid 
service in bringing us safe through 4500 miles towards 
this ancient and classic land. Thus far nature has smiled 
upon us : heaven has been propitious. All our party have 
proved themselves lovely and a few of us can boast of a 
sickless and ideal sea voyage. 



III. 

RURAL GREECE AND MARBLE 

ATHENS 

APRIL 4th we are steaming into Patros, the western 
port of this historic and greatest little country in 
the world. We are packed up to leave our sea 
home. This is a lazy and luxurious method of travel : no 
worry, for our conductor shoulders all care and looks after 
the baggage, the boats, the custom-house toll. He carries 
our passports, opens our way, hires our carriages and re- 
lieves us of paying tips. A guide who is a father to us, and 
a friend, is worth more than we have to pay. It rests us 
from embarrassment at every turn. At 8 A. M. we are 
in the hotel and ready for a walk about the streets. This 
third famous city of Greece was raised to honor in 1821 
when she first lifted a standard against the Turk. Byron 
loved it and died across the straits, almost as a Greek 
hero and, they say, his heart is still buried there. 

It seems best to visit first, one of the most important 
Greek Catholic churches. The gorgeous eikon at the en- 
trance, the fine paintings of the apostles and the conspicu- 
ous representation of Deity and the Holy Trinity so 
common to this class of churches in the east, entertain 
us for a restful hour. The eikons of the Eastern churches 
usually contain the image of Christ, the Virgin Mary, 
some saint or martyr, richly framed and decorated in 

19 



mosaic or with jewels and are shrines which are sup- 
posed to have miraculous power. 

Ascending the great street stairway, we have a fine 
view of the gulf of Lepanto or Corinth. Here are the 
Greek soldiers on the plateau drilling near the barracks. 
Their cavalry of donkeys are being unsaddled, paraded, 
and later reloaded with detached guns for mountain ser- 
vice. We watch their maneuvers and walk up the heights 
and are finally admitted to the watch tower of the fort 
overlooking the bay. A complete view of the city, of the 
mountains and the whole picturesque landscape for miles 
towards all parts of the compass, rivets our attention for 
hours. One of the ladies of the party, full of adventure 
and with a climber's instinct and head, reaches the watch 
tower first and, from its high peak, waves a small Ameri- 
can flag to our party below. She stands in the presence 
of a Greek soldier. Someone remarked that the United 
States had captured and raised the Stars and Stripes. 
But there was no protest against this band of Americans 
taking playful possession of the Greek fort: on the con- 
trary, we find a cordial welcome to this enchanting spot. 
A Greek candy maker from Pennsylvania joined us, who 
could speak good English. He explained his errand back 
home as that of a volunteer soldier and pointed out to 
us varied attractions from this tower. He directed our 
attention to the tile-roofed buildings, the parading bu- 
glers, the busy brewery in the plain, the snow covered 
mountains, the wild flowers growing out of the rocks, 
the olive orchards on the plain, the grazing flocks in every 
direction, the tile-making yards of the city, the sail ships 
and steamers of the bay, the fleecy clouds, the plowed 
gardens with the peasant men and women. The domed 

20 



churches speak of reHgion ; the landscape recites his- 
tory, and picturesque nature praises the patriotic country 
which welcome us. 

Greece is one-fourth the size of New York state. 
She leads the world's history in four respects : her litera- 
ture, architecture, sculpture and language are the most 
famous of all lands and ages. It has two and a half 
millions of population. It is a mountainous country with 
less than one-fifth of its land tillable ; but even to the high 
mountains, the workable land is very rich. Only patches 
of ground are framed and in many parts nothing but 
grapes and olives are raised. Mulberry and orange 
groves, with frequent flocks of sheep and goats, constitute 
the possessions of the humble, but strong and historic 
peasant people. Just now they are a proud and patriotic 
folk. Every man under twenty-one years drills six 
months to two years as a soldier. Thousands of Greeks 
from other countries are returning to serve a term of 
volunteer service in the army, that they may prepare for 
war when it comes again. At present they are elated by 
their recent victories over the Turks and Bulgarians. 

Their chronology is thirteen days behind us ; for this, 
by the Greek calendar, is the 22nd of March though we 
had supposed it to be April 4th. We left New York on 
the 2 1st of March and find ourselves in Greece one day 
after starting. 

Lunch over, we are on the train. Second-class pas- 
senger accommodations in Europe are good enough for 
first-class people. Our party are shut up in three com- 
partments with our baggage and without intrusion. For 
one hundred thirty miles we enjoy the finest scenery in 
the world, equalled only by Switzerland and Colorado. 



We skirt the beautiful blue Gulf of Patros and pass the 
foothills of the mountains on the north. Hour after 
hour humble Grecian homes greet us where diligent peas- 
ants are tilling the soil, mostly in grape culture. Burden- 
some but effective methods are employed for irrigating 
field and orchard with water furnished by mountain 
streams. On the north is reared the snow covered head 
of old Parnassus, the home of Jupiter and the gods of 
mythical days. This diminutive railway, in contrast with 
English or American lines of travel, has plenty of time, 
and eighteen miles an hour is pretty swift passage in this 
land. 

Soon we near Corinth, with the Acropolis above and 
the old ancient columns in sight. Excavations have been 
stopped, and we will pass on to the modern Corinth 
where Paul trod. A motley crowd of soldiers, boys, hack- 
men, venders of fruit, and loafers entertain us in their 
usual manner. A soldier, who speaks good English, tells 
us during our fifteen minute stop, how he learned to speak 
it in New York. Our native land has schooled multitudes 
of foreigners. As a soldier, he is proud of his country 
as all the rest are. We buy souvenirs, though we must 
deal sparingly in the offered junk in all our tour if we 
would get home without excessive baggage and an empty 
purse. Our stop is over. The little engine bell rings, the 
station signal is given, the conductor blows his horn and 
the "all aboard" in Greek drives us back to our com- 
partments and we are soon crossing the canal of Corinth 
which connects the Aegean Sea and the Gulf of Lepanto. 
The bridge over the canal is one hundred seventy feet 
long, The canal itself is sharp and straight, seventy-five 
feet wide and twenty-six feet deep and has a length of 



four miles. Caesar failed to build it, though he talked of 
it, and it was only finished in 1893. It is the greatest enter- 
prise for Greece in modern times and makes the shortest 
steamer way from Venice to Athens. We admire its 
enginering, though it is a baby conquest compared with 
the pricelesss Panama and the great Suez Canal. The 
afternoon passes happily while, raptured with the match- 
less scenic views, we slowly wind along the foot of the 
mountain on the one hand and the bluff of the stream and 
gulf below. The fields, orchards and homes look clean 
and inviting; and the ancient and well piked roads prove 
that we are in a country in marvelous contrast with our 
native land in size and cultivation. These coaches are 
made for the daylight ride, and when night comes on, we 
have little more than the memory of daylight and gor- 
geous sunset and good hopes of brighter lamps as we see 
signs of Athens in the distance. Our little engine finally 
pulls us into the station and we are taken in carriages to 
our hotel apartments in one of the finest hotels, where we 
shall prepare for Palm, Sunday in the city that has been 
noted as the home of famous people for twenty-nine 
hundred years. 

It is a high privilege to spend Lord's day in Athens. 
The sun is bright and the weather ideal. A dazzle of 
white morning light breaks into our room from the east- 
ern sky. The boys are shouting the sale of papers on the 
street below. People of Athens, as of old time, are still 
wanting to know some new thing. They read and they 
know. The strange language and customs of the Oriental 
Greek compel a sense of loneliness in a foreign land ; but 
the shops and faces are more homgeneous than we find 
in Algiers or Naples, and more of a kind than we shall 

23 



see in Egypt, Jerusalem or Constantinople. The Greek 
signs in the street are in the same language that puzzled 
us in boyhood school days. A Greek teacher of our party 
takes pleasure in spelling out everything, while others pass 
them all up and depend wholly upon our guide. This is a 
marble city. Houses and pavements are dressed in white 
so that the noonday glare of the sun is painful to one 
unused to it. We are at once impressed that it is both 
an ancient and modern city. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, 
Demosthenes and Phidias speak to us out of the treasures 
of art that we find here, while the modern buildings and 
European garb tell us that we are in an age far distant 
from the past. It is sacred, historic soil. Everything 
charms and appeals to our thought. We are in school 
and every stone becomes a teacher. 

Dr. Allen announces that he will take us to the king's 
church at 9 130 this morning. We find it full of men and 
women ; the latter keeping in their places at one side or in 
the galleries, while the priests and men singers chant the 
majestic service. The candles and chandeliers are lighted 
by the multitude, all to exalt the Christ. No organ or in- 
strument, only the voices of men and priests sound the 
praises. The people cross themselves reverently, bow 
before the eikons and keep in harmony with th swing of 
the censers and the chanting of the prayers from the full- 
bearded priests and attendant boys and choir leader. 
Here are the chairs of king and queen in, the transept. 
Though not occupied today, they must not be touched or 
trespassed upon. There is no gayety nor signs of joy. 
Strangers are accorded a sincere welcome: this is a 
noted feature of all the Greek Catholic cathedrals. There 
is great reverence and a quiet, humble spirit manifest. 

24 








Allen Party at Partlienon, Athens. 




Jail of Socrates, Athens. 



Today a memorial service is held and prayers are offered 
for the dead. Sorrowing women and men come to the 
front laden with emblems of mourning. The Agape 
or love feast, is shared as the priest passes the blocks 
of bread to all who come forward. 

After a walk about the attractive parks and the re- 
freshing lunch at the Hotel Grand, we are journeying at 
three o'clock to Mars Hill. There is no reasonable doubt 
that this stony eminence is the place upon which Paul 
stood as the Areopagites, or city rulers, gathered to re- 
ceive his famous address. We climb the difficult, much 
wrecked and worn steps, and from the height of this ir- 
regular Christian pulpit, we gaze upon the city to the 
west, the Acropolis to the north, and from all points of 
the compass, breathe in the gracious and historic atmos- 
phere, bathing ourselves in the sunlight that seems almost 
divine. Others have gathered on this same sacred height 
to worship and it is proper that one of our number 
should read the story of Paul's sermon on Mars Hill as 
found in Acts 17:27-31. What a freshness and charm 
gather about these words of that intruding Christian 
apostle who so adroitly and with such courage and skill, 
such unction and power, addressed the learned ones of 
Greece and smote the idols which then covered all these 
rocks and hills and highways ! Was his sermon a failure ? 
Only Dionysius and a few others were converted. Many 
were convinced of the truth concerning the Christ of 
whom Paul spake. Centuries have passed. The then 
idolatrous and pagan, but cultured, Athens is now wholly 
a Christian city. Even the Turk has been driven out and 
the whole country is nominally Christian in religion and 
progressive in civilization. It is fitting that the prayers 

25 



of American ministers should ascend and the whole party 
should finally join in the hymn "Jesus, Lover of My 
Soul," while Greek boys and strange faces about us look 
in wonder and listen with interest. Even a crazy man 
with astonished mien is silent in presence of the sacred 
atmosphere. The spirits of apostles and philosophers 
seem again assembled to pay tribute to the "Name above 
every name" whose Gospel has conquered this famous 
hill and nation at last. 

On leaving this wondrous spot, apparently neglected 
but embalmed in the affection of the Christian world, 
we gladly join a little later, the worshipers in the English 
Church and enter with spirit into the English service 
of Palm Sunday as with them, we sing: 
"Ride on in majesty : 
In lovely pomp ride on to die, 
Bow thy meek head to mortal pain 
Then take O God, thy power to reign." 
It has been a glorious Sunday and we rest with 
gratitude in anticipation of a trip to the classic Acropolis 
on the morrow. 



26 



IV. 

ANCIENT RUINS AND MODERN 
CUSTOMS 

THE Acropolis is the crowning glory of ancient 
Athens. As we ascend the steps leading to this 
classic spot we are reminded that this hill once 
controlled the world. Athens was the first city of the 
world ; the Acropolis was its first hill ; the Parthenon was 
the center of the Acropolis ; and Athena, the first statue of 
this forest of idols, was the center of the Parethon. Like 
many of the hills around Athens, it is solid rock and was 
utilized in prehistoric days. The Greeks made it steeper 
and more unapproachable. It was first a political, then a 
religious center. In 500 B. C. Athens was less than half 
the size we now find it. The city clustered about the rocky 
Acropolis which has for its background the distant moun- 
tains, Hymettis, Pentelicus and Lycabettus. The ruins of 
the Acropolis are built of white Pentelican marble from 
which, indeed, the whole modern city is constructed. The 
whole ruins, part of which were built 2500 years ago, 
have a yellow shade but were once pure white, and still 
show an eternal quality of high grade material which does 
honor to the architects and brings great credit to the 
tradesmen and builders who did their work so well that 
neither years nor foes, robbers nor rivals, have been able 

27 



to destroy what was once the supreme triumph of human 
genius and artistic skill. 

The plan of my story forbids a detailed description 
of these marvelous ruins, much less a scientific outline of 
the great pagan temple which crowns this hill; The 
Parthenon is the principal ruin. It is itself the remains 
of a matchless edifice, composed entirely of marble. Had 
it not been for the explosion of a powder magazine in the 
year A. D. 1670, the outlines of the building would still 
be intact. The multiplied stones and broken pillars scat- 
tered about remind us of the sacrilegious bombardment 
which defaced but did not destroy this triumph of the an- 
cient ambition and classic skill. In front as we approach 
it, is the spot where the goddess Athena, constructed by 
Phidias as his finest work, stood on a pedestal twelve feet 
square and thirty-nine feet high. It was the greatest statue 
of history — unless we except his statue of Zeus — and cost 
three quarters of a million dollars. As we stand with 
reverent thought and mingled emotions in the presence 
of this ruin, we seem to face the heathen world with its 
multitudinous idols. We follow down the centuries and 
find it again a Christian church for a thousand years, with 
idolatry swept from its rocky heights. Then for three 
hundred seventy years, the Moslem religion controlled it ; 
and later the avarice of Roman armies and European 
explorers reduced its treasures for the sake of other 
museums and other cities. Now only the remnant of this 
greatness stands to perpetuate the glory of the ancient 
time and entertain the tourist and student of today. The 
temple of the "Wingless Victory," the Erechtheum, the 
temple of Athena and the great Amphitheatre on the 
east side and beneath the walls, all remain substantially as 

28 



in the early days to advertise the art and idolatry of that 
age. But the one great lesson that comes to the Christian 
tourist is the fact that all the mythology and idolatry, and 
much of the philosophy and ceremony of both pagan and 
Moslem epochs have been swept away and seem to have 
taken their flight forever. In its stead is the sacredness 
of the past, the quiet Christian atmosphere of the Gospel 
of Jesus Christ, whose Name is above all names. He, 
Himself, is the "Ancient of Days" at whose feet every 
knee shall bow and every tongue confess. 

-Let us take an afternoon drive. We will visit the 
old Metropolitan church where we will hear the chime 
of bells and see the stone from Cana of Galilee. We will 
visit the monument of the Winds, whose octagonal tower, 
varied relief statues and ancient water clock beneath the 
conduit perplex and entertain the mechanics of our party 
and start questions that nobody can answer. We will 
have time to enter the Theseion, also a Roman relic later 
used as a Christian church. The old Forum and storage 
rooms of the market place, and the remnant of the mighty 
gates that protected the city, gaze upon us as if they 
would like to talk of the glory of the ancient days. The 
graveyard lies along the way to the west gate. A fig tree 
grows out of the wall and seems to clamor to speak of 
what it has learned of the multitudes who used to press 
along this highway of Grecian life. We can only take a 
glance at the old Stadium, at the Byron monument, the 
ruins of Jupiter and the Hadrian arch. We must not 
sleep until we have entered and explored the prison of 
Socrates, and taken a snap-shot of friends looking out of 
the bars from the very spot where, tradition tells us, Soc- 
rates stood when he drank the fatal hemlock. 

29 



April 7th of the Gregorian calendar is March 25th 
of the Julian record which prevails in Greece, Russia and 
Austria. This is the ninety-third anniversary of 
Greece's independence. Athens is the center of the cele- 
bration for the whole country and is dressed in her holi- 
day attire as at no other time in the year. The sunshine 
and climate are ideal for a great day. We are awakened 
at 6 A. M. by a drum corps and thirty officers and later 
by the salute of guns in honor of the day. It is the 
Grecian "Fourth of July." In 1821 Greece won her 
victory over the Venetians and has since rejoiced in her 
independence. 

We Americans, of course, expect fire-works and 
noise. On the contrary, barring the parade of soldiers 
and royalty, it is a quiet Sabbath-like day ; indeed it is 
a religious day. Everything centers in the display of 
soldiers along the streets in their gala uniforms and in the 
procession of the king and his officials to and from the 
Metropolitan Church. As I watch the parade from a 
lower balcony of our hotel, which faces upon the public 
square, I am impressed with the dignity of the procession. 
No excitement or confusion prevails. There is no rush 
or disorder : there is no drunkenness or rowdyism. The 
soldiers of the army and navy with the boy scouts in great 
numbers, make a fringe for the crowd from the palace to 
the church. People, in American and European dress 
largely, fill the streets and the park or square adjacent 
to the windows. As the king passes and other members 
of the royal council, there is quiet cheering, then patient 
waiting until worship is over and the royal procession 
leturns to the palace whence they came. King Con- 
stantine, who acceded to the throne March 18, 191 3, is a 

30 



handsome and devout ruler, beloved of his people and 
nation, peaceable in his relations to other countries, and 
religious and honorable in his private life. "When the 
righteous rule the people rejoice." It is a delight to find 
a contented people whose patriotism has its chief form 
of celebration in a pilgrimage to the altars of worship. 

The record of the day, which, to us Americans, 
seems like a Puritanic Sabbath rather than a holiday, is 
incomplete without reference to our ascent of Mount 
Lycabettus where St. George's Chapel is built on a high 
rocky peak on the east side and near central modern 
Athens. It is nine hundred feet high to the doors of the 
little chapel, which we reach over winding path and 
varied stairs of stone steps. At last the crown of the 
peak is reached by only the stronger members of our 
party. We are surprised to see the chapel crowded, for 
it is a hard and long half-hour's climb ; but those who 
want to go can go to public worship. On this day, relig- 
ious service is prominent and apparently the chief em- 
ployment of the citizens of Athens. We are reminded of 
Paul's compliment to the city in pagan days when he per- 
ceived that they were "very religious." The eikon of 
"St. George Killing the Dragon," the perfume of the 
incense, the miserable chanting of the humble choir at- 
tracted us for a season, though gorgeously dressed priests 
robed in silvered white, golden, scarlet and blue hues, 
made a striking contrast with the discordant voices. 
They are sincere and command our respect, however our 
religious instincts may be shocked by the form of their 
devotions. 

This is a lofty and charming place for worship. In 

31 



every direction the view is magnificent. The whole city 
with the distant Acropohs and the intervening panoramic 
view reaches from the mountains on the north to Salamis 
and Piraeus on the south. The fields containing vine- 
yards and the barracks of the drilling soldiers reach far 
out on the plains towards the foothills. The white marble 
glare mingles with the waving flags and banners and 
the whole picture is crowned with dazzling sunshine. It 
is a most inspiring sight which we would fain copy if 
we had an artist's pencil and a month to paint the scene. 
But we must descend for other studies and sights later in 
the day. 

We will pass through the public garden, view the 
exposition building with its imposing architecture of 
modern type, and wend our way to the site of the old 
Olympic Stadium. This is a new and a restored building, 
built and seated with marble from a nearby quarry, to 
accommodate 50,000 people. It is remarkable in its con- 
struction and acoustics. It is the center of thought for 
the sporting world in these latter days as it was two 
thousand years ago. The temple of Jupiter with its re- 
maining seventeen columns is not far away. One great 
column is prostrate, furnishing a good occasion for a 
snap shot, and seems to speak concerning the end of all 
greatness, while it affords a splendid opportunity for the 
study of the architecture of the once magnificent temple 
reared here in the heart of old and ancient Athens. 

We will continue our stroll to the Theatre of Bac- 
chus and study the plan of this public place of amuse- 
ment. We will sit in the stone chair and upon the very 
seats occupied by the thousands of pleasure loving people 
of the centuries agone. It is only a passing pleasure that, 

Z2 



in this i">lace where life was once sacrificed, Bacchanalian 
revelry complete and ancient Roman drama displayed, 
our party should insist upon the recitation of poems and 
the singing of songs. We recall the days when this 
theatre of Hadrian was in its glory, and he sat in this seat 
with no rival and no prospect of future decline or de- 
thronement. It has been a day of intense interest. The 
life of the populace has been seen at its best. There is a 
striking unity of dress, which for a city crowd, reveals 
remarkable modesty, decency and good taste among both 
men. and women. The combination of umbrellas, para- 
sols, straw hats, overcoats, furs and various colored 
garbs remind us of the California climate of our native 
land. The hot and dazzling mid-day and cold nights 
bring into requisition every variety of dress as well as 
tastes of the Athenian crowd. 

Another day finds us driving about the city. We will 
make a morning call at the beautiful Byzantine Metro- 
politan church. The shops and narrow streets reveal an 
industrious, business-like people. Humble homes appear 
on every hand. Donkeys, men, women, carts, all laden 
and all quietly employed, inspire us with an admiration 
of the contented and harmonious Grecian life. There 
are few shade trees. The homes are walled up and shut 
in. Now and then a hanging flower garden is seen, or a 
blooming shrub protrudes from the wall. Our bad mem- 
ory or our ignorance, or both, make us poor interpreters 
of the Greek signs that prevail everywhere ; but we can 
understand the palm groves in the public square and ap- 
preciate the works of nature and admire the humble 
flocks of sheep in the suburbs as we leave Kolonas where 
we study two conspicuous and lovely white tombstones. 

33 



Just a mile farther is the academy where Plato taught. 
The ground around and beside the miserable hut chapel, 
a deep well, fine gardens with flowers and vegetables, 
form a pleasing resort for American tourists as it did for 
the great teachers of Plato's day. Returning by another 
route through the city, we see groups of women and 
children drawing water at street corners, men building 
and working in wood, iron, leather and all forms of trade 
hfe. 

We next visit the cemetery noted as the resting place 
of the great Dr. Schliemann and thousands of others. 
Peaceful tombs with burning lamps, the sign of the cross 
at nearly every grave, impress the visitor with the fact 
that this is the resting place of people who have inherited 
a religious spirit, the love or art and unconquerable 
patriotism. 

We must find time for a brief visit to the National 
Museum. Here is the Athena statue, an imitation of the 
original great work of Phidias that was erected on the 
heights of the Acropolis. This is a small one but very 
striking. There is also a bust of the Christ, the finest 
seen and never designated, though certainly of Roman 
origin. The treasures of the Schliemann discoveries are 
here. How they speak of the explorations, hopes and 
friendships that have crumbled into oblivion and obscur- 
ity, never to be fully restored until the Books are opened 
in the great day when every man shall be rewarded ac- 
cording to his works ! The signet ring relics, the house- 
hold and commercial emblems of art and skill speak of 
varied civilizations passed away because their votaries 
could not or wonld not accept the light of God. There is 
a pagan coarseness in these relics of past civilization, art 

34 . 



and religion that makes a dark background for the pure 
and undefiled teachings of Jesus Christ which surpass 
the earlier mythological religions and philosophy as day 
surpasses night. 

This day of wonder studies and of scenic delights 
is crowned by a cablegram from Mattoon, Illinois, read- 
ing "Dry. All well." The interpretation is refreshing: 
by the vote of men and women, twenty-three saloons are 
exterminated in our home city and hundreds of others are 
closed throughout the state. Prayer is answered and 
hearts are thrilled. I took a Greek and an American flag, 
attached them to the cablegram and passed it around my 
table where sit representative tourists from five states. 
All joined in congratulations over this victory for prohi- 
bition in our native country. It was a hallelujah crown- 
ing to a day of gladness and pleasure seldom enjoyed in 
the history of our happy party. 

Another day in Athens permits us to spend some time 
at the Bema, or Demosthenes' rock, the scenes of early 
oratory and debate when orators were in their glory and 
patriotic themes and philosophical discussions were at 
their height. We will mimic the early Grecian days by 
some more performances, songs, etc., breathe the free 
air and take in the fine view which this hilltop gives us of 
various points in the city. Leaving it, we will visit the 
Academy of Science with its mythological paintings on 
its ceilings and walls and its library of 250,000 volumes. 
The University building nearby has a charming chapel 
and 2500 students. We mark the Schliemann home, a 
monument in Grecian architecture and an honor to the 
great German explorer. We note the gifts of eminent 
scholars to the city and their monuments. It seems to be 

35 



a custom to thus remember the men who poured out their 
wealth or who sacrificed their Hves and learning on be- 
half of the people. 

Dionysius was one of Paul's converts at Mars Hill. 
On Holy Thursday, we will enter the church that bears 
his name. It is a Latin church, a genuine Roman Catholic 
temple ; but, contrary to the custom in such churches, 
there are no images. The Grecian Church has its in- 
fluence on imported Christianity, for the Greek Catholic 
Church forbids images in their cathedrals. Their adorn- 
ments are in pictures, paintings and architecture. The 
Parliament building comes in for a respectful share of 
thought and we are permitted to sit in the gorgeous desks 
and examine the king's gallery with its rich curtains. The 
sessions of the Athens Parliament are held at night and 
we forego the pleasure of hearing their debates, satisfied 
with the study of their customs, their art and their people; 

We have yet time for a trip to Piraeus and Falleron 
by the sea. Pirjeus is the famous harbor where the ships 
of all nations for three hundred years have floated. Its 
blue waters are still covered with crafts of every size and 
from every nation. The pennants float from the masts, 
stretched by strong sea winds and made brilliant by the 
shining of an unclouded sun. The fish market here is one 
of the most famous in the world. In my journal, in mem- 
ory of sights and odors that made a deep impression and 
gave our party intense entertainment, I wrote in connec- 
tion therewith, the word- "horrible." Therefore we will 
leave the strange conglomeration of marketable stuff and 
marketing cries and, crowding past the money changers, 
offices on the sidewalks and the little church in the city — 
for religion seems second to commerce here — we will take 

36 



the tramway for a ride about the bay and peaceful return 
to our hotel. We must prepare to leave on the morrow ; 
but before we go, a few of our party will make another visit 
to the Odeon Theatre with its great arches and trail of 
departed pleasures, to the Acropolis, and to the park. We 
will muse for an hour amid the ruins of the world that 
passeth away though founded in solid granite and im- 
perishable marble. We will have another farewell and 
fading view of the Acropolis and the spires of modern 
Athens as we take carriage for a drive to Salamis along 
the macadamized road for five miles to the sea. This 
road, straight as a rule, forty-five feet wide, enclosed 
with great walls, adorned with pepper trees and curbed 
in modern style, looks as if it would last for centuries. 
Since 455 B. C. it has been called the "long wall." This 
has always been the way of approach from the sea and of 
all the world to this "hub of learning, of art and of re- 
ligion." 

We leave our carriages for the row boats that take 
.passengers and baggage a mile across the bay until, wind- 
ing in and out among all sorts of sea craft, we ascend 
the ship stairway and find ourselves comfortably lodged 
under the Union Jack of England on the S. S. Osnamieh. 
It is an Egyptian vessel under English control. We are 
full of pleasant memories of Athens the Great. We 
turn our thoughts four hundred miles southward. In 
a few hours we shall pass Crete. We have exchanged our 
Greek coin for Egyptian money and, after two days and 
nights, we land in Alexandria, the first port of Africa and 
the pride of Egypt. 



37 



V. 
EGYPT'S PYRAMIDS AND SHOPS 

OUR quiet voyage to Alexandria is a most restful 
one. Our steamer is a small vessel, but its apart- 
ments furnish us a fine opportunity for social 
life and private reading. Good Friday marks a day of de- 
votion and Scripture study. Our party unites in a common 
tribute to our Divine Master, the Captain of our Salvation, 
who gave Himself in holy suffering that we might enjoy 
these lofty pleasures. Thunder and lightning with heavy 
rain do not disturb our rest. My journal of Saturday tells 
the following ship story : "Refreshed with slumber, we 
breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 12, have tea at 4, dinner at 
6:30. We again turn our watches forward thirty min- 
utes to keep up with ship time going toward Egypt. The 
water is blue, the sky is bright, the passengers are few 
and quiet. Sea choppy and we find it not easy to prome- 
nade ; but the voyage is full of relaxation and exhubera- 
tion. This steamer is one of the Khedevial mail liners 
from Constantinople to Alexander. Above my desk 
hangs the calendar of the ship. Three dates appear : the 
Christian, April 11; the Greek, March 29 ; the Turkish, 
March 15, 1332, reckoning from the hegira of Moham- 
med 582 A. M. The record is in four languages includ- 
ing Hebrew. Studied the ship's log today and marked its 
record. Thought on the record of our progress in 

38 



Heaven's log book which holds a like statement concern- 
ing our spiritual progress," 

Easter Sunday is a beautiful balmy day on which 
we enter the harbor of Alexandria. We drop anchor 
and wait until the legal five days have expired for all 
Constantinople vessels to remain at sea. A minister of 
our party expounds the word and we hold a religious 
service in the deck parlor. Why should not Christian 
travelers keep up their public worship as well as private 
devotions ? The quarantine doctor is very careful and we 
must pass private examinations and receive certificates 
of health before we can land in this port. This is to 
fence against contagious disease which is often trans- 
ported from one city to another in the Orient ; it is a good 
law with farcical enforcement. After six hours in this 
beautiful well walled bay, we are beside the moving 
wharf. We hear red fezzed porters and agents calling 
the names of their hotels from behind the wicket fence 
erected to keep them back. Our baggage of suit cases 
is carefully loaded with military precision and we are 
piloted to our carriages, thence to the Custom House and 
on to the train which takes us to Cairo. 

Alexandria has a population of 350,000. It is the 
second city in all Africa. It has the attraction of a mod- 
ern and Mohammedan city where Egyptian customs and 
civiHzation prevail. It is a most ancient port. Pompey's 
pillar, an imposing column of red granite, one hundred 
four feet in height, is the rrost attractive ancient land 
mark on the seacoast in northern Africa. According to 
early popular belief, it was reared in the memory of 
Caesar's rival, Pompey the Great, who, fleeing hither after 
the battle of Pharsalia, was murdered ; but the inscription 

39 



indicates that it was placed here in honor of the Roman 
emperor, Diocletian, three hundred years after Christ. 
It stands upon an eminence of rubbish and near an 
Arabian cemetery. It was near this that the great library 
of Alexandria with its precious wealth of learning was 
consumed by fire. The two lofty lighthouses on the 
shore, the khedive's palace and harem, add interest to 
the tourist who thinks of this city in connection with 
Archimedes, Euclid, Anthony and Cleopatra and the 
murder of the beautiful Hypatia. But we must hasten 
on up the Nile to "Cairo the Magnificent." The train 
is crowded. The bell rings and we are off at a forty-mile 
per hour speed for the one hundred forty mile run along 
the fascinating valley of the Nile. Eighteen and forty 
miles an hour by rail illustrate the difference between 
the management of the Greek and British governments. 
What a new world Egypt seems to be ! We are in 
the country of the Pharaohs, of Abram, Moses, Joseph, 
and are about to explore the land which sustained God's 
favored people for four hundred years. We can conceal 
our protests at the presence of travelers who insist on 
smoking fifteen cigarettes an hour in the presence of our 
American ladies if we can put our heads up to the win- 
dows and enjoy the vision of the fruitful valley and the 
fragrance of the flowers that cover the walls and houses. 
The farm scenes of plowing cows, burden laden donkeys, 
busy Egyptian peasants and housekeepers, furnish var- 
ied entertainment for us all. I wrote "housekeepers" 
when "hut-keepers" would be more appropriate. There 
are no fences or walls except those that enclose the 
homes of the people. The irrigation trenches, eight to one 
hundred feet apart, are in evidence everywhere. Water 

40 




Cart and Arab "Women in Cairo Street. 




Cairo Women. 



may be had in less than twenty-five feet throughout the 
valley; and water wheels, turned by blind-folded cows, 
appear on every farm. There often appears also the 
primitive one-man bucket lever. Women and children 
till the fields. Buffaloes, used both for milk and culti- 
vation of the ground, are seen at work or at rest in 
groups. 

It is Easter Sunday but there is no sign of rest from 
labor. There seems to be no Christ to lift the burden 
of toil in this country. The villas of mud huts with 
thatched roofs line the railroad. The Mohammedan 
cemeteries with their mud mounds three feet high, with 
head and foot marks of wooden posts, tell of the custom 
that we shall meet all through the Moslem lands. On 
these well-watered plains, as level as our native prairies, 
are frequent palm groves. We see women cutting grain 
and grass in the fields and trudging along the highway 
to market with impossible burdens on their heads. Here 
is a camel who seems to carry a wagon-load of green 
alfalfa or Nile clover. The rider sits high upon the bur- 
den, to which his contented brute servant turns his long 
neck and feeds from the load he carries. Happy for the 
pilgrim who is able, out of his cares, to live well and 
make his own load lighter while he himself grows 
stronger beneath his very task. We sing hyms in our 
compartment and watch the panorama of peasant life 
till the shadows of evening come on. But look ! All 
talk is dropped while our eyes are fixed upon the match- 
less sunset behind the palm groves. Our train rushes on. 
The sun is a great wheel of fire turning among the palm 
tops as we hurry towards Cairo. 

Arriving in this great steel railroad station of a city 
41 



of 600,000 people, we seem to be making a landing in 
Pittsburgh instead of Egypt. Modern enterprise and civ- 
ilization seem to have taken possession of this city of the 
pyramids, which is none the less wonderful after 5647 
years of recorded history. A well tested dragoman greets 
our conductor and takes our party in hand. We pause 
to wonder at the baggage which these Egyptian porters are 
willing to carry: they pile load after load upon their 
shoulders, strapping them around their foreheads until 
they shame the very donkeys by the elephantine weight 
which they tackle for the sake of coin. 

We are soon landed in our hotel where we will rest 
amid the noise and tumult of this great center of com- 
merce, Moslem life and ancient scenery. We must get 
a good rest to prepare for the sights of the morrow. It 
has been a necessity that we should travel by rail on Sun- 
day. This day has little recognition in this land save in 
the reverent thought of Christian pilgrims and in the 
Christian schools and homes that have been planted here 
in spite of pagan darkness. 

The hotel comforts of this "Eden Palace" promise a 
splendid night's rest; but the boisterous voices of the 
night rabble in the park nearby, continuing till 2 A. M., 
make us wish for a resting place in some retired glade or 
quiet desert spot. Nevertheless we rise early and at 8 '.30 
are ready for sight-seeing. 

We first take the tramway for Gizeh and the pyra- 
mids. The morning sun is brilliant, the air is bracing. 
We soon cross the famous Nile on a modern steel bridge. 
The river is filled with boats and all sorts of Egyptian 
water craft. All through the suburbs we enjoy the lux- 
uriant gardens. Homes of great wealth and of extreme 

42 



poverty are side by side. We pass the Arab soldier 
guards, uniformed in white engaged in their morning 
drill. The soldiers of the British army are much in 
evidence. An hour's ride brings us to the shaded resort 
of camels and donkey boys waiting for just such tourist 
companies as ours. The pyramids are within easy reach. 
Climbing upon the dromedaries that are made to kneel 
respectfully for our accommodation, we begin our first 
camel ride up the sandy road to the very presence of Old 
Cheops, the leading pyramid of Gizeh. What a wonder 
of the world! Other wonders have multiplied but they 
have -never outlived this one. Standing upon the edge 
of the wierd and sun-bathed desert of sand, it rears its 
conical head four hundred fifty-one feet above the 
ground. Its base covers eleven acres, originally thirteen. 
Its surface was once smooth, but now no mortar covers 
or joins the stone. The great blocks make difficult step- 
ping stones which with assistance may be climbed to 
the very summit. An agile Arab runs ahead of us, as- 
cends to the very top in five minutes and a half and re- 
turns to the ground in three. He then appeals to each 
of the company for his share of "baksheesh" and fur- 
ther seeks to guide the tourist up the sides of the pyramid, 
a feat requiring an hour or more, which he made in less 
than ten minutes. 

Somewhere around 3733 B. C. this great monument 
was built by 100,000 slaves. Thirty years they labored 
to draw the great stones from the quarries nine miles 
away. An ambitious king refused them anything to eat 
but onions and bread while they built this monument for 
his glory, and underneath it, prepared a sarcophagus for 
his body. But his empty sepulcher tells the story of their 

43 



hatred; for they removed his body and buried it in the 
sands of the desert and his name and grave are unknown. 
This is but a sample of the price of sin and slavery. It is 
a sad tribute to the vain and wicked ambition of men who 
dishonor the God who made them, by crushing their 
fellow men. Surely "the memory of the wicked shall 
rot" while "the righteous shall be in everlasting remem- 
brance." 

The Sphinx not far away and companion pyramids * 
command our attention. This old rocky face, sixty-one 
feet high, again and again buried in the sand and oft- 
times exhumed again by explorers, is the greatest stone 
idol in the world. The hole in the head, ten or twelve feet 
across, was the hiding place of the ancient heathen 
priest who talked and made people believe that the stone 
was a god. The Sphinx was built a hundred years be- 
fore the pyramids, says the Arab guide: nobody knows 
when. There are nine great pyramids, six of them much 
smaller than the other three. Their builders came to 
naught and, like the tower of Babel, they rebuke the folly 
of men ; while the God-made Nile, the life-giving boon of 
all Egypt, keeps washing the shores where Pharaoh's feet 
once trod. We close the day with the study of the beauti- 
ful hibiscus hedges looking like tall fences of red poppies. 
We delight in the fragrance of the marvelous rose gar- 
dens. We admire the banyan trees and the palms. We 
feast our eyes on ripe barley fields and the white plains, 
where glide the "ships of the desert," the droves of camels 
that crowd the highways towards the Cairo market. 

On another afternoon our carriages take us to the 
Mohammedan University. Here are 15,000 students in 
a school that is called the largest in the world. With san- 

44 



dais provided to cover our unhallowed shoes, we walk 
through the court and temple, hear the Muezzin call to 
prayer, and learn much about the Mohammedan and his 
religion. The students' methods of study, their buzzing 
rather than busy habits, their lounging, their sleeping, 
their confusion of noisy tongues, do not contribute to an 
exalted opinion of the superiority of the Moslem college. 
A walk back through shops and narrow streets of 
Cairo becomes a revelation. Merchants are grouped, those 
of the same class being associated in adjacent stalls or 
marts. Here is the perfumers' market ; there the jewelers' 
stands, the metal workers and so on : all of them lazily 
waiting, as it seems to us, for custom. We secure our bot- 
tle of attar of roses, purchase various trinkets, pass a fu- 
neral in the street and hear the wierd music accompanying 
the same. But neither the afternoon journey through the 
crowded marts nor the wierd sights that meet us as we 
prowl about the streets after dark, give us half the pleas- 
ure that we obtain as we close the day with a visit to the 
depository of the Bible Society where the precious Holy 
Scriptures are scattered in this great Egyptian center as 
the leaves of life for the healing of nations. Nine differ- 
ent tongues are represented in the languages in which the 
Bible is here circulated. Thus is introduced the Gospel of 
life which must at last conquer this land of slavery and 
superstition. The work is being well done, for modern 
civilization is being advertised in the very show windows. 
European clothing, met everywhere, is in constant con- 
trast with the pagan garb that seems to us to be the fruit 
of the superstition and idolatry which belong to the age 
of ignorance and sin. All fashions commingle on the 
streets. Women dressed in silks and rags, men in the 

45 



garb of the scholar and of the peasant; the beggar, the 
dude, the street woman and royalty, all mingle by day and 
by night. The park and play house, the hotel and the den 
of vice, the school and the market, the museum and the 
hospital: these tell of the pleasures, the sins, the am- 
bitions, the fears, the burdens and the schemes of this 
land of the Pharaohs and of Moses. 



46 



VL 
IN AND ABOUT CAIRO 

ATRIP through Cairo would be imperfect without 
a few hours in the National Museum. It is a fine 
building near the British barracks. There is no 
greater collection of heiroglyphics and mummies. It is the 
treasure house of history. Recent explorations have added 
greatly to its riches. One hundred pages would not de- 
scribe the wealth of this store-house and one who has no 
relish for relics or taste for ancient history will find the 
long journey through its many rooms and corridors rather 
tedious. A few glances only may be taken, which were to 
the writer, suggestive of a thousand thoughts. 

In the entrance hall are old funeral barks used in the 
earliest dynasties to row the dead across the river Nile. 
Here is the unique remains of one, thirty feet long and 
twelve feet wide, which suggests thoughts concerning 
death and the future life. A rudely carved wooden 
statue found at Sakkarah, representing the head man of 
the village, belonging to the second dynasty, is a fair 
sample of art carving prominent in Egypt 5000 years ago. 
The ancient Egyptian learning of 2000 B. C. is strangely 
exhibited by the statue of a scribe ready to make a letter 
on a scroll and send it on an important errand. Our 
ladies of the party are drawn to tarry in the room which 
shows fine domestic customs of bread baking, kneading, 

47 



washing on an old primitive washboard, the making of 
pottery, etc. The yellowish-brown statue of a man and 
the white stone carving, that have stood the test of 
thousands of years, are a monument to a prince and his 
mother. But most striking of all is the goddess Hathor 
in the form of a great cow. This remarkable exhibit is 
found farther up the Nile at Thebes : the representation 
of a king filhng himself with milk from a cow's udder; 
the signs of life are carved about the head, while the 
serpent guards from evil. A style also exhumed from 
Thebes has on it the probable inscription of Man- 
epta, in proof of the ancient Bible story, for it reads. 
"Israel is wasted and his seed brought to naught." 

What mummy riches are here! Rameses II., the 
father of Pharaoh in Moses' day, actually lies before us. 
He was a man of war and also one of the greatest Egyp- 
tian builders. He fought the Hittites. The remains of 
Manepta, his thirteenth son, appear well preserved in the 
mummy five feet four inches long. If we had time, we 
could tarry long before the jewels of kings and queens. 
Gold collars, necklaces, wristlets, all for ornament 
in the earliest days, are the counterpart of those 
seen in modern Egyptian life in the very streets of 
Cairo. The chairs, beds, chariots, are here' preserved as 
faithfully as the mummies preserve the forms of men, 
rams and other animals. What matchless embalming of 
the dead ! Further astonishment overwhelms us as we 
study their sarcophagi. -It is a record of a great nation 
with much wisdom, but religious blindness concerning 
the personal God of Israel. 

Take time for an afternoon drive with us to Heli- 
opolis. It is a cold and disagreeable trip in the rain, but we 

48 



will stop by the way to see an Egyptian primitive water 
wheel. These are turned by a blinded ox or cow, and for 
six dollars a month, are made to irrigate from surface 
wells, large adjacent tracts of ground. It is the most in- 
expensive machinery for irrigation and has not been 
changed in form in thousands of years. We will pass the 
home of the Khedive, the wealthy king of Egypt, whose 
plantation is beautifully fruited, stocked and cultivated; 
and whose palace is walled high against all intruders. 
Farther on, a few miles, we come to the most famous 
sycamore tree — unless, perchance it were the sycamore 
upon which Zaccheus climbed — to be found in the world. 
It marks the spot where Joseph and Mary rested with 
Jesus after their flight to Egypt. It is near a spring. 
The sacred spot, walled and well kept, is a beautiful place 
to meditate and dwell upon the traditions and history 
of Bible times. At last we come to On, where rises to the 
height of sixty-five feet, the obelisk of Heliopolis. Near 
this spot, Joseph found his wife. For 4000 years this 
shaft of stone has stood the storm, and its emblems which , 
have been bathed in the sunshine of centuries, still speak 
a language we fain would read. What sights it has wit- 
nessed ! What faces have gazed upon its sacred in- 
scriptions ! 

If one would remember the trip to Egypt, let him 
spend a day such as I am about to describe. We will take 
a car at 7 A. M. for Gizeh. By previous arrangement, the 
donkeys and camels, an equal number of each, with drago- 
men and donkey boys to match, are waiting us not far 
from the foot of old Cheops. Climb on the donkeys as- 
signed you and lead the procession of eleven men and 
tvv'elve women for a ten-mile ride to Sakkarah across the 

49 



sandy desert skirting the Nile valley. It is April 1 5th. For- 
tunately the day is a cool and somewhat cloudy one ; for 
one unused to Egyptian sun risks much in a first long trip 
across the hot sand at this time of year in this climate. It 
is near the end of the tourist season, but all are eager to 
take this journey and every one is at his best in the start ; 
at the finish, he may be the worst, for this is the hardest 
day of our three months' tour. My donkey boy twists 
the donkey's tail, prods it hard, complimenting its rider 
and runs ahead of the rest of the party, bragging first on 
the donkey, and then on the "nice man" that rides it, only 
that he may later plead for the present of a gold watch 
and other smaller favors either at the end of his journey 
today, or when "the very nice gentlemen" shall have re- 
turned to his home in "Meriky." My saddle strap breaks 
and the second boy runs to help fix it while we tarry in 
the sand ; then there are two attendants, each pleading for 
"baksheesh," or a present, or something to buy dinner 
for himself, or certainly for the donkey. By and by our 
"sure enough" donkey overtakes the procession and again 
rushes to the front and, at last, after more than two 
hours, we come to the oldest pyramid of the nine that 
are grouped in this section of Egypt. 

We will first reach and visit the tombs of Ty and 
wife, remarkable for stone carving on the walls. The 
now empty sarcophagus was robbed by the Romans who 
discovered the bodies hidden away in this sepulchral home 
of the solid rock. Farther, across the desert, near another 
pyramid, have been excavated the tombs of the sacred 
bulls, two hundred forty in number. These empty sar- 
cophagi of the Egyptian Apis are most remarkable and 
the only animal burial vaults yet discovered. Some of 

50 



these are great troughs of stone thirteen feet long, three 
feet high and from twelve to eighteen inches thick. How 
these peculiar marble tombs were brought a distance of 
six hundred miles from the Assuan quarry and buried 
so deep beneath the sand and rock is the marvel that out- 
wits the inventive thought of today. The tomb of Mar- 
mont is another discovery and a strange find of this lo- 
caHty. We shall require candles and a descent of ninety 
feet down a modern winding stairway where we shall 
visit underground rooms hewn out of the solid rock with 
closed apertures where it was thought absolutely im- 
possible to discover the body and that of the prince's 
wife. Both tombs are now empty. Alas for human pride 
and human plans ! The oldest pyramid, the "Step," is 
more dilapidated than "Father Cheops" near Gizeh ten 
miles away. Some of these pyramids are crumbling; 
but all tell of the ambitions of a most ancient people and 
all were doubtless viewed again and again by Abraham, 
Moses, Aaron and Pharaoh. 

Returning a mile or two to the Merrit shelter, we 
lunch and prepare to retrace the sand path of the morn- 
ing. We came a-back donkey. We will hope to improve 
our condition by trading for one of the camels. At the 
end of our day's trip, each member of the party will 
wish he had tried another method of travel. Partly with 
racing and resting, viewing the distant Nile, sheltering 
ourselves from the sun betimes, and again from a re- 
markable rain storm, and viewing the tombs of modern 
Mohammedan graves scattered along the way, we will 
come at last to the home of our chief dragoman who has 
invited the party to refreshments. We dismount from 
our camel or donkey, enter the home of this well-to-do 

51 



business man of the village, who with his brothers, serves 
us with refreshments. Our spectators are the camels 
and donkeys that, braying and snuffing and looking in at 
the low window of the walled room, called a Moslem 
dining hall, seem to clamor for provender or to share in 
our entertainment. Our host's wife and children are in 
another building and are not presentable, especially to 
the men of our party. British soldiers and policemen, 
children and more donkey boys rally to the round-up of 
the party under the palm trees of Gizeh where we dis- 
mount and, pushing aside our crowd of beggars, seek to 
rest our weary bodies in the tramway that will return us 
to our hotel in Cairo. 

Still another day's ride will take us to the citadel 
overlooking the city and the distant plains. The great 
Mosque of Sultan Hasan, just below the citadel hill is 
one of the most imposing of the two hundred sixty-four 
mosques in Cairo. Its massive gateway, sixty feet high, 
is a model for many others. Its south minaret is two 
hundred eighty feet high. Here in the center is a large 
fountain for ablutions. The Kibla, or sacred niche, in- 
dicates the direction of their worship toward Mecca. 
This resort or altar is found in all mosques and con- 
nects up these Moslem places of worship with the mother 
city. In the center, under the dome, is the sarcophagus, 
the burial vault of Khedive Ismail. The "Mohammed 
Ali" mosque has a most striking and attractive dome. 
The great court is paved with white marble and is bor- 
dered with alabaster columns in poor state of preservation. 
The interior is gorgeous but its decoration is of a tawdry, 
offensive style, the chains spoiling the effect of the four 
hundred electric lamps that have been recently introduced 

52 



for illumination. About the court citadel are numerous 
venders of alabaster and other articles, and children per- 
forming all sorts of feats for baksheesh, with kindred 
annoyances and entertainments as thick as flies. Speak- 
ing of flies, everybody carries fly-brushes ; they never swat 
the fly. The English soldiers swarm about the fortress 
which dates back to 1166 when Saladin, according to 
Arab history, brought stone from the small pyramids 
at Gizeh to build its walls and towers. 

The reverence for the dead khedives, priests and prin- 
ces is very marked in all Moslem structures. I note this 
ifiscription as a sample : "Behold with reverence. This is 
the tornb of Sidi Azab. His benign presence illumines 
the darkness." Over a chair in the citadel, among other 
relics commemorating the memory of a noted long-lived 
hero, are these words : "Only he who, by the favor of God 
has lived one hundred years may sit here." None of our 
party could claim the right, so we passed on. 

Mosque after mosque wearies the visitor until he is 
willing to seek entertainment in the street among the ne- 
cromancers, sleight-of-hand performers, snake charmers, 
and other scenes of modern life. With still greater pleas- 
ure we follow our dragoman, Mohammed, to old Cairo. 
Here we cross the sacred and famous life-giving Nile on 
a primitive ferry-boat pushed by poles. We find our- 
selves upon the Island of Stone, the reputed palace of the 
daughter of Pharaoh. Near-by is the place in the river 
which tradition points out as that from which Moses was 
drawn out of the bullrushes. The ancient Nileometer, 
one of two in the whole valley, was once used to measure 
the rise and fall of the river. In Old Cairo, a little 
distance from this traditional spot, is the Coptic Church 

53 



which we find by pasing through the most filthy streets 
and alleys. Here is the sacred crypt where the Holy 
Family is said to have rested in their retreat into Egypt. 
The baptismal font and other signs of devotion on the 
part of this sect of the Christian faith form objects of 
study, while almost pity is awakened for the devotees who 
are girt about with both ignorance and superstition. Pov- 
erty and oppression seem to abound. If Moses had seen 
these filthy and wretched homes, he would surely have 
been moved to lead them to a cleaner, if not more pros- 
perous, neighborhood. 

Other lands call us and we must take our farewell 
view of the streets and groves, shops and hotels, misery 
and wealth of this Egyptian center of civilization, as we 
enter the railroad station and begin our trip across the 
desert to the Suez Canal and up to Port Said. We 
are on our way to Joppa and must stop a few hours 
to view this port of entry. The Continental Hotel invites 
us, and the bay, with its shipping, rests us while we take 
a walk to the De Lesseps monument, which stands far 
out at the end of a pier and honors the name of a man 
who opened this canal by his enterprise and who, by his 
failure, has connected his name with the great Panama of 
the Western Continent. The steamer Kardak is a new boat 
with fine accommodations. It is only a night's trip, for 
tomorrow morning we will be lying outside of Joppa 
waiting the boats which will land us at the wharf of this 
entrance city to the Holy Land. 



54 



VII. 
GOING UP TO JERUSALEM 

IT is a bright and cool morning when our steamer Kar- 
dak comes in sight of Joppa. The shallow and rocky- 
harbor is dotted with multitudes of boats containing 
two hundred porters and hucksters bidding for our busi- 
ness. At the signal for advance, the agile Syrian boatmen 
shout and clamor up the boat's stairway for passengers 
and luggage. Strange emotions come over us as we get 
this first good view of. the port of entry to the Holy Land. 
Into this famous harbor in Solomon's time, came timber 
from the forests of Lebanon on rafts from the Phoenician 
ports of Tyre and Sidon, to be used in the Temple at Je- 
rusalem (II Chron. 2:16). It was here that Jonah em- 
barked when he ran away from God's call to Nineveh, 
We have soon threaded our way to the wharf and cus- 
tom-house where my big suit case is again selected as a 
target for the officers ; but with little delay, we have passed 
inspection and are on our way up the narrow street 
to the house of Simon the Tanner. It is still a tanning 
neighborhood. On the housetop where Peter had his 
vision which prepeared the way for the spread of the 
Gospel to the Gentile world, we pause to read the story 
of Peter, Cornelius, and the sheet let down from heaven 
as found in the tenth chapter of Acts. We have reached 
the fountain head of the Gospel stream. Mt. Car- 

55 



mel's dim outline is first visible from this housetop. 
A snap-shot is taken of our party, the bay, with a 
bird's-eye view of the unique business city of Joppa. 
We take a prolonged bath of holy sunshine wishing 
our stay an hour longer; but we must press down the 
little stairway, out through the hall, past the first crowd 
of Palestine beggars with their accustomed and well- 
practiced methods of importuning tourists. Our car- 
riages are ready for a drive to the house of Tabitha 
or Dorcas. We enter the little modern Greeek church 
and study the pictures which celebrate the raising of 
Dorcas from the dead and view the crypt-like recess in 
the rock which is shown as the very spot where Peter 
wrought this famous miracle. As in a hundred other 
instances, the mist of doubt gathers about us as we 
listen to the descriptions and assurances of the keepers 
or guards who talk of these sacred places in the Holy 
Land. But whether this is the spot or not, tradition 
points it out and we know it was under the same sun- 
shine an in the embrace of the same fragrant atmos- 
phere ; and so we are inspired by the historic record and 
entertained by the surroundings. The beautiful orange 
groves tempt us as we return to our hotel, and we are 
content to enjoy a splendid lunch at the "Hardegg" Hotel 
with the best and sweetest and biggest oranges we have 
seen in any country. 

There are different ways of reaching Jerusalem from 
this famous place ; but the rail route of fifty-three miles 
through Sharon's plain and Judea's rugged hills is the 
one laid out before us. The Agricultural School of the 
"Alliance Israelite," the scattered flocks of goats in va- 
rious directions upon the hillsides, come in for early at- 

56 



tention. Lydda station on this route is about ten minutes 
from the place where Peter was sent for and notified of 
Dorcas' sickness ; and where Eneas was restored, who 
was sick of the palsy (Acts 9:32-35). In a short time, 
the plain of Sharon comes in sight. The typical rose of 
Sharon is not so conspicuous as are multitudes of smaller 
flowers that are seen throughout the stony fields covered 
by grazing flocks. A few miles further on this little 
narrow-gauge railway brings us to Ramleh, the home of 
Joseph of Arimathaea and the birthplace of Samuel (I 
Sam. 1:1). Ramleh was of great importance and re- 
nown during the crusading period. It was founded by 
the Arabs and was surrounded by stone walls with no 
fewer than twelve gates. The country round about is 
very fertile, with many olive groves. The view of the 
tower is interesting. The village of Akir, the ancient 
Ekion whither the Ark of God was sent. from Ashdod, is 
pleasantly located among the trees and now holds a 
flourishing Jewish colony. 

To the left of the railway is a mound that marks 
the site of the ancient royal Canaanite city of Gezer, 
which has a history running back nearly 5000 years. 
Though assigned to the tribe of Ephraim, they found 
difficulty in driving out the tenacious Canaanites, who 
occupied it until the time of Solomon. It was here that 
Samuel set up his Ebenezer, or Stone of Help. Recent 
researches of the Palestine Exploration Fund have re- 
vealed wonderful information concerning the early in- 
habitants and successive peoples of this particular lo- 
cality. The rude pillar stones, the caves, large jars, and 
the skeleton of an infant that had been sacrificed in the 
worship of a temple, showing the heathen sacrificial rites 

57 



of the earliest days, all make it a place worthy of stu- 
dious, examination. In some Christian tombs have been 
found such illustrations of the early Christian faith as 
a signet ring bearing an early portrait of Christ. 

But our train hurries us on through deep ravines 
and near caves where prophets were hid and battles were 
fought. Samson himself walked and rested about these 
mountain sides. Out from the rugged terraces of rocks 
that seem scarcely habitable for goats, and up from the 
deep ravines about which we wind, there seem to come 
voices that tell tales of the distant past and turn our 
thought to Bible story of the ancient Israelite and his 
conquered foes. Already our Bible begins to freshen as 
we turn to its pages and read with a new zest because we 
are facing the land of sacred story. At 6 P. M. our train 
pulls into the station a mile out of Jerusalem. A car- 
riage awaits us, our driver whips up his half-fed team 
and rushes around the well-made road till we come in 
view of Jerusalem, the city that is the center of this great 
and sacred land. We are driven to the door of the Hotel 
Fast, just outside the walls and the best hostelry for 
tourists, where we will abide for the next ten days. The 
street is full of pilgrims from every part of the world, for 
it is the Saturday before Easter Sunday which, in the 
Greek Church, comes this year on April 19th. Thousands 
of Russians and Armenians have crowded the city for 
the privilege of getting their candles lighted from the 
holy fire of the Holy Sepulcher at the famous hour of 
twelve o'clock on Saturday preceding Easter. 

According to the faith of the eastern Catholic 
Church, there occurs each year in the rotunda of the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher, one of the strangest sights 

58 



of the whole world. At the particular hour named on 
this day, it is believed a fire descends from heaven upon 
the tomb of Christ. As a matter of annual exhibit, the 
fire does proceed out of a circular opening and its glim- 
mer is eagerly sought by thousands who press together 
about this sacred spot at the appointed time. Many of the 
people hold their places amid the heat and stench of the 
great crowd through the whole preceding night. Often 
lives are lost because pilgrims are trampled to death in 
the rush. As many as three hundred people have lost 
their lives in the panic that sometimes seems to make the 
mob -insane. The fire at last descends and the sacred 
flame comes out through the hole in the side of the chapel. 
Suddenly the great bell clangs as if for an alarm of fire. 
Extended candles, torches and tapers tied together are 
lit and borne by runners to other chapels of the church 
and to other altars of worship. They rub the sacred 
soot from these torches, lighted from the holy fire, upon 
their bodies. They let the fire play around their faces 
and naked breasts assured, as they say, that it will not 
burn them. These candles will be saved and used on festal 
occasions and will give comfort to weary thousands upon 
their death beds in distant lands. 

This, my first Sunday in the Holy Land, is a notable 
and beautiful day. It is our second Easter this year. We 
are guided to the place where a repulsive rabble are push- 
ing their way into the Holy Sepulcher. Each Christian 
sect has rights. The time is divided for the service. 
The furniture, carpets, rugs, etc., on the floor in front of 
the altar are changed as ordered by the respective priests 
of the flocks who have the right of sacred service in the 
different chapels. The Latin, the Greek, the Armenian, 

59 



the Coptic, priests all have privileges here which the 
Turkish government recognizes and protects them in 
enjoying. It is about the only sign of liberal treatment 
that we find among the Moslem officers. Turkish soldiers 
are in evidence, although in this part of the city, the 
Christians seem to have the right of way in religious 
customs which the Jews and Mohammedans despise and 
slight, but are obliged to recognize and submit to, however 
offensive to their faith. Because of the crowd about the 
temples of Christian worship on this day, I prefer to 
spend an hour in the American Church of the Missionary 
Alliance outside the city. Dr. Robinson of Chicago, in 
charge of the School of Archaeology, occupies the pulpit. 
His excellent sermon on "Be sure your sin will find you 
out," attended by earnest singing and prayers, adds to the 
sacredness of the day and rests our souls as well as our 
bodies on this holy hill. 

At twelve o'clock we are returning to meet the pro- 
cession of priests coming from the Holy Sepulcher. At 
3 :30, one of our party entertains and delights our com- 
pany in the hotel dining-room as he expounds, "The 
common people heard Him gladly." At 4:30 we 
will spend an hour in the Russian Christian Church. 
In this vicinity is a hostel for men and women and a 
great tem.ple where there is a jam of pilgrims waiting 
upon the leadership of priests and choir. The procession 
by twenty or more priests and the mitered high priest 
carrying his crucifix,- entertains us and begets feelings 
of wonder rather than of devotion. Pilgrims are passing 
candles and giving alms and all seem to welcome the 
strangers. It is a day of general devotion — ceremonial, 
ritualistic exclusively — but sincere. Having stood in the 

60 



jam for an hour, until we are almost suffocated, we are 
obliged to push our way out into the fresh air and sun- 
shine of the street. Here we observe, exposed for sale, 
all symbolic contributions to worship, such as candles, 
emblems, crucifixes, and crowns of thorns actually woven 
for the benefit of those who carry them long distances 
and wear them as an inspiration to faith in time of hu- 
miliation and prayer. We have seen the pilgrims kissing 
the Stone of Unction near the reputed tomb of the Savior, 
who was crucified but is not here. Truly our faith says, 
"He isnot here. He is risen." If this is the place where 
the Lord lay, we are glad that His throne of grace and 
help is to be found as we look upward rather than press 
onward in to the midst of this strange and foreign crowd. 



6i 



VII. 
THE TEMPLE HILL AND CALVARY 

JERUSALEM is the chief Bible city of the world. 
After seeing Mt. Zion, "the city of our God," the 
i22d Psalm has a fresh meaning. "Our feet shall 
stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded 
as a city that is compact together, whither the tribes go 
up." The historic city within the walls covers but two 
hundred ten acres ; its entire length from north to south is 
but two-thirds of a mile ; you can walk from one side of it 
to the other in ten minutes, and an hour is easy time for a 
trip entirely around its walls. Outside the walls in the 
suburbs, it is a modern city, especially to the northeast 
where there are numerous colonies of Jews and buildings 
of various Catholic and Protestant missionary societies. 
The total population of Jerusalem is near 100,000 and 
the whole of Palestine, west of the Jordan covers about 
6000 square miles, or one-fourth less than the size of the 
state of New Jersey. A bird's-eye view of the city again 
confirms the Bible record, "As the mountains are round 
about Jerusalem." I have seen the city and viewed the 
mountains. There is no shadow of doubt as to this being 
the same city and these same mountains and streets looked 
upon and traveled by Jesus Christ, the Savior of the 
world. Again and again, the most ancient phophets, 

62 



priests, and apostles compassed these same walls and trod 
these rocky paths. That the number of tourists to the 
Holy Land is limited to a few thousand each year as 
compared with the hundreds of thousands who visit 
Europe, is due partly to the government; somewhat to 
the discomforts of travel; and, possibly, to a lack of in- 
teiest in the study of Bible lore. 

Our first day's exploration takes us by David's Gate 
and along the outside walls through the Armenian quarter 
of the city. Here we come across a funeral of a poor 
man in the Armenian cemetery. He is being buried in a 
shallow and irregular rocky grave wrapped only in a 
winding sheet. His old widow sits at a distance weeping 
in genuine grief, while the grave digger and priest come 
almost to blows over disputed details of interment. We 
take a look into the deep and capacious cisterns, of which 
there are many underneath the chapels. They furnish 
the water supply of the whole city. It is a marvel to 
strangers that better water privileges have not been pro- 
vided for a city built upon a rocky hill as is Jerusalem. 
Its wretched water system is both peril and a wonder ; yet 
the people live on and there is no improvement, but rather 
decline of comfort and convenience after the lapse of 
4000 years. Good water and clean society are revealed 
as attractions of the New Jerusalem above : they are quite 
lacking in the old city on earth. Indeed, sunshine and 
water, particularly at certain seasons of the year, are 
both quite perilous, especially to tourists. In the summer 
season the head must be well protected, and the heat is 
quite excessive ; though the temperature between the 
shadow of a "great rock in a weary land" and that of 
the direct rays of the sun often varies from thirty to fifty 

63 



degrees. Though our journey through Palestine is in the 
latter part of April, I am carrying a white umbrella, 
which serves a double purpose of cane and shelter. To 
one unused to the steep rocky cliffs, the irregular stones 
of the pavements, the winding streets and the unshaded 
hillsides, both of these ends need serving. 

As we pass down the outside of the walls to Hinnom, 
and to the Dung Gate, and then down the steep descent at 
the southeast to the pool of Siloam, we have a fine view of 
the distant landscape. Equally striking are the miserable 
natives who are seeking a livelihood by bearing from the 
springs of the valley burdens of water that would seem 
to be enough for a donkey. These women plod on with 
their gardening, working with ancient tools that give 
no hope of success or profit. 

We follow a Turkish soldier, with uniform and 
sword, as a guide to the Mosque of Omar. Down 
through the crooked, narrow and dirty streets inside the 
walls, we pass a heterogeneous crowd, similar perhaps to 
that which trod these pavements in the first century. 
We elbow Jews, Moslems and Druses, Armenians, Abys- 
sinians and Mohammedan shieks. Here are the Greek 
merchants and peddlers, Syrian travelers, Russian pil- 
grims, white-robed Dominicans, Franciscans, wild looking 
Arabs from the desert. There are green turbans and red 
fezzes, missionaries with sun helments, eastern priests 
with stove-pipe hats. There is a jumble of colored gar- 
ments, a babel of tongues and rival religion going to and 
fro all day long. Even the clock at the Jaffa Gate tells 
a double story, one face of it revealing Turkish time and 
another, the Grecian time. The Turks and Arabs count 
their time beginning with sunset ; but as time is little 

64 




Temple Site and Mosque of Omar, Jerusalem. 




Temple Area, Jerusalem — Only Grassy Plot about City. 



reckoned with in the Orient, it matters little what time 
of day it is, so we journey in daylight. 

Our guard has gotten permission for us to enter the 
Mosque of Omar, found in the great and matchless 
Temple Area of thirty-five acres. Standing on the side 
next the tower of Antonio, we recall history of three 
Jewish temples, one pagan, a Christian church and finally, 
- a Moslem Mosque with its "Gate of Paradise." The 
"Dome of the Rock" is doubtless the site of the Temple 
of Solomon. This Mosque of Omar, with its gaudy 
windows and symetrical dome, is perhaps the most in- 
interesting historic and sacred spot, outside the Holy 
Sepulcher, to be found in Jerusalem. It has no graceful 
ininarets rising about it, such as are seen in connection 
with other mosques. We enter through the east entrance 
which is known as the "Gate of the Chain." The dome of 
the Chain is a small model of the Dome of the Rock, to 
which it is adjacent. This name is based upon a curious 
legend which is thoroughly believed by the Moslems about 
the city. They say that David held his law courts upon 
this spot and special measures were taken against in- 
justice. To insure righteous decisions, a chain was let 
down from the sky to within three feet of the ground. 
Every witness called upon for his testimony was required 
to take hold of this chain with both hands. If his word 
Vvas false, one link dropped from the chain to prove his 
word a lie. A law suit was once held here between a 
Moslem and a Jew. The Moslem had been on a pilgrim- 
age to Mecca, and before leaving Jerusalem, he gave the 
Jew a sum of money to keep in trust. On his return he 
declared the Jew had failed to return the money ; hence 
the suit. In presence of all parties concerned the old 

65 



Jew appeared, with gray beard and stooping shoulders, 
leaning upon a very thick staff. That he might take hold 
of the chain with both hands, he gave his cane to his 
Moslem antagonist. Seizing the chain he said, "I 
solemnly swear that I have repaid the money in question 
and that this Moslem has it in his possession at the 
present moment." No link fell from the chain. The 
Moslem handed back the Jew his heavy cane and, taking 
hold of the chain, said "I solemnly swear that I have 
never received the money from this Jew." The chain 
thereupon disappeared and has never been seen. The 
crafty Jew had concealed the money in the hollow staff. 
When the Moslem held it for him, he had paid him back 
his money. He told the truth ; but as it was his intention 
to deceive, it became a lie. The poor Moslem thought 
that he was telling the truth while he was swearing un- 
consciously to falsehood ; hence, the chain being of no 
use in determining the truthfulness of testimony, was 
carried back to heaven. The little dome has suspended 
in the center of it, a rusty old chain which gives it the 
name. 

The interior of the Mosque of Omar gives one an 
impresion of coldness and gloom. There are many 
beautiful arches, pillars and piers, principally of marble. 
Some of these are believed to have been taken from 
Herod's Temple and inserted by the Arab architects. The 
upper portions of the eight walls are filled with lovely 
mosaic designs about wjhich are found texts from the 
Koran, some of which have reference to Jesus the Mes- 
siah. The dome is supported by four piers and twelve 
columns, all arranged in the form of a circle. Beneath 
the dome, there is an enormous drum which is ornamented 

66 



with costly mosaic work. The dome itself is painted 
with gilt. The colorings of the windows is striking and 
the porcelain exterior causes a subdued light. A great 
perforated screen protects what is known as the "Holy 
Rock." Standing on the stone balustrade, the visitor 
obtains a good view of the remarkable rock which is 
said to have been the threshing floor of Araunah, or Or- 
nan, on which David offered his sacrifice (II Sam. 24:16- 
25). Near the southeast corner of this rock is a large 
round hole through which we descend to the cave be- 
neath. About the center of the floor, near where Abram, 
David, Solomon, Elijah, by tradition, are all said to have 
offered worship, is a large circular slab of stone which, 
when stamped upon, gives forth a hollow sound. Our 
guide will not permit its being lifted. It is supposed to 
have been connected with a sewer which carried away 
the blood of sacrifices. Many good authorities hold that 
this holy rock is the place of the Holy of Holies, instead 
of the altar of burnt offering. An indentation in the 
stone here is said, by the Moslem people, to have been 
made by Mohammed's head when he took his flight 
upward. 

We will turn our backs upon the Mosque of Omar 
and enter the Mosque El Aksa, a magnificent structure, 
very large but not so richly decorated. This stands to 
the south of Omar and from it is seen the verdant por- 
tion of the temple area, the only grassy plot I found in 
Jerusalem. Above it shines the beautiful sun and over 
it grows a great olive tree, inviting the weary pilgrim to 
rest awhile. But beneath this rocky level, are Solomon's 
stables in the southeast portion of the Omar enclosure 
and we must enter through a low and narrow doorway 

67 



and dark stone staircase. These are great vaults and 
passages formed by long series of massive columns that 
support the paved platform from which we have come. In 
their present condition, they are probably of medieval 
origin. A glance shows blocks of stone which formerly 
entered into other structures. During the siege of Jeru- 
salem, many thousands of Jewish people took refuge in 
these subterranean vaults. That they were utilized for 
stables is proved by the mangers and holes bored into 
pillars for the tethering of animals. But let us keep 
within the walls and retrace our steps up to the temple 
area again and climb the wall from which we may view 
the southern slopes leading down to the Pool of Siloam, 
the valley of Kedron and across to the Tomb of Absalom. 
The outlook from the wall eastward to Olivet is most 
enchanting. 

We soon leach the Golden Gate, which is now walled 
with masonry and to which there is no access from the 
east. It has been closed since the 8th century, but the 
interior may be seen through a small window in the 
outer walls. It is doubtless the "Gate Beautiful." The 
Mohammedans believe that some day a Christian king 
will enter Jerusalem through this gate, which will mean 
the downfall of their power ; so they jealously guard it, 
making it very difficult for anyone to approach it from 
either side, and hope thereby to prolong their possession 
of Jerusalem. This incident reveals their expectancy of 
coming doom, which may- be seen in various legends and 
may be found in the very atmosphere that pervades the 
Moslem worship. Their religion is one of apprehension, 
lather than of faith and hope. There is another tradition 
among the Moslems which says that when the end of the 

68 




View of Garden of Gethsemane. 




Newman Mission, Jerusalem. 



world comes, Jesus will sit upon the wall above the col- 
umn and Mohammed on the Mount of Olives, and between 
them a rope may be stretched over which all men must 
attempt to pass. The wicked will fall and be annihilated 
in the valley below. Other strange traditions and legends 
confront us everywhere among people of this faith. 

The Pool of Bethsaida, not far away, with the Scrip- 
ture story in seventy-eight languages about the walls, 
compells our attention. Twenty-five feet below the street 
we may, after going down the old stone steps, touch the 
very water that held its healing power in the days of our 
Lord. Some of our pilgrims unite their Christian faith 
with Irish superstition and, after dipping their extremi- 
ties in the famous pool, retrace their steps in hope of new 
health and strength. 

The Church of St. Anne and the monastry of the 
Mother of the Virgin Mary, where Mary was born, next 
attracts us. Monks are waiting here and worshiping. 
The Greek Catholics who are now in possession, extend 
a kind welcome. We soon pass over the Via Dolorosa 
to St. Stephen's Gate. The Roman pavement is shown 
where, we are told, the soldiers played games during the 
shocking scenes of Calvary's famous afternoon. The nat- 
ural rock arch continuing the Ecce Homo arch spans the 
traditional path over which Jesus carried the cross. 
While trying for access to one of the monasteries, our 
conductor, thinking it necessary to use his limited Arabic 
vocabulary to secure a key or gate-keeper, talked his 
labored question to a young native in the street. After 
looking intently into our leader's face, he said in the best 
and plainest English, "What you want is a key, is it not ?" 
We could never tell in Jerusalem how near we were to 

69 



our mother tongue. We soon reach another station of the 
sad way, where the picture may be seen of Veronica and 
the stained handkerchief with which she wiped the per- 
spiration from the Savior's face. It is a strange irony of 
fate that the Jews, who once excluded all Gentiles from 
the temple area, are now themselves debarred from enter- 
ing the precincts of the noble sanctuary. The utmost 
that is allowed them is to pray at the outer walls of the 
sacred enclosure. Here, every Friday afternoon, which 
is a preparation for the Sabbath, and indeed at various 
days during the week, many of the Jews resort to what 
is known as the "Wailing Place." In all my wanderings 
about the city, nothing made a more memorable impres- 
sion than the faithful devotion shown by these wailing 
Jews, who meet to lament the destruction of their temple, 
the loss of their inheritance and to pray for the restora- 
tion of the Jews to their beloved city. The Lamentations 
of Jeremiah, various of the Psalms are chanted in Hebrew 
and form the basis of their petitions and supplications. 
Old men and women, young people and children, were 
here with their open Bibles. I heard them chanting their 
lamentations and watched them kissing the walls with 
realistic devotion and deep emotion ; for I more than once 
beheld the tears of sorrow which indicated the sincerity 
of these ceremonial petitions. 

The atmosphere of Jerusalem is as ceremonial as in 
the days of Jesus. Our walk through the city on Satur- 
day, the Jewish Sabbath, discovers the stores of the Jew- 
ish quarter all closed and the curtains, which form a street 
wall, pulled down. Passing across and through the Mo- 
hammedan quarter which adjoins the Jewish quarter, 
merchants are running full blast. Now that we are in 

70 



the Jewish section, let us visit their synagogue. It is a 
queer place. Confusion and devotion with ceremonial 
ritual combine to revive the record of early Jewish wor- 
ship. Here at the door is a modern boy. He assumes to 
have the authority with right to hold up our party for 
baksheesh, though our conductor soon finds that he has 
nothing to do with the building. We push him aside and 
enter the synagogue. The women are worshiping in their 
galleries. The men are busy at their altar. Jewish 
worship in Jerusalem is carried forward on a small and 
penurious scale. The glory of the past is departed: the 
Jew has lost out and is surely not yet come to his own. 
In the same locality and in striking architectural 
contrast, is the German Lutheran church dedicated by 
Emperor William of Germany a few years ago. 

Leaving the modern features of Jerusalem, we will 
walk down for a few hours' renewed visit to the Church 
of the Holy Sepulcher from which, on previous visits, we 
were crowded out. This is the modern representative 
of the ancient churches erected 326 to 335 A. D. by the 
emperor Constantine. We enter the church from Chris- 
tian street. Descending by a flight of steps, we land on 
the south side of an open court. The court is paved with 
limestone and occupied by venders of olive wood, mother- 
of-pearl, beads, etc. The facade is a most beautiful 
place of work. There are two doorways, above each a 
window ; on the lintel, a base relief of French workman- 
ship of the I2th century. Scenes of the "Raising of 
Lazarus," "Entry into Jerusalem," "The Last Supper," 
etc., are works of great merit. The eastern doorway is 
closed with masonry. In front of it is a flight of steps 
leading to the Chapel of the Agony. Entering the Church 

71 



of the Holy Sepulcher, which is free for visitors and 
pilgrims at this season, we find immediately in the front, 
the "Stone of Unction." This stone, which is kissed by 
the multitudes of Christian pilgrims, though scarcely 
ever so honored by Christian tourists from America and 
Great Britian, is supposed to commemorate the anointing 
of the body of Jesus when taken down from the cross. 
The stone itself has often been changed, the present slab 
having lain there for one hundred years. Near it are 
large candelabra, and above it are lamps which belong 
to the various religious orders. On the left, is a spot sur- 
rounded by an iron rail where the women stood when 
Jesus was laid in the tomb. South of this place, is a 
flight of steps that leads to the apartments of the Ar- 
menians. The Chapel of the Holy Sepulcher is in the 
center of the rotunda which we now enter. It contains 
eighteen piers which support the royal arch. The piers 
are connected by arches, above which is the iron dome 
with a gallery for spectators and worshipers. The en- 
trance to the Chapel of the Angel is a low doorway ; with- 
in are fifteen lamps always burning. In the center is a 
fragment of the stone that closed the mouth of the sepul- 
cher. The tomb, as it now appears to view, is a marble 
bench, two feet high, six feet four inches long and three 
feet wide. Above the tomb are marble reliefs belonging 
to the Greeks, Latins and Armenians. Lamps owned by 
three communities of Christians and, a few of them, by 
the Coptic Church, hang from the ceiling. On the days 
of special worship and celebration, these varied Chris- 
tian sects, led by their priests, take turns in ceremonial 
services. 

Our guides and guide books reveal the Church of the 

^2 





Hearing a Lecture in Bethleiiem Court. 




Ready to Leave Jerusalem by Carriages. 



Holy Sepulcher as a bewildering forest of Chapels, aisles, 
vaults, courts and hallowed spots at various levels ; all 
of which are presented as historic and around which 
there is so much of the artificial and story of tradition, 
as to leave a sincere stranger in the maze of doubt, though 
he is entertained and instructed by the variety of the reve- 
lations. Here in the Greek cathedral near the rotunda is 
shown the "center of the world" which is said to be built 
above the garden of Joseph of Arimathaea. In the 
middle is a cup with a flat ball called the earth's center. 
We enter the "Chapel of the Parting of Christ's Rai- 
ment," the "Altar of the Penitent Thief," the "Chapel 
and Chair of St. Helena" the "Chapel of the Crowning 
with Thorns," and ascend steps leading to the "Chapel of 
the Raising of the Cross" and the "Chapel of the Nail- 
ing." Near-by are "Adam's Chapel," the "Chapel of the 
Archangel Michael," the "Chapel of Mary Magdalene," 
and the "Rock of Calvary." Your guide will show be- 
neath the altar, the hole, now lined with silver, where the 
cross was fixed. The position of the crosses of the two 
thieves is also marked on the floor. On the south, a 
brass slide, when pushed back, discloses the cleft of the 
rock as stated in Matt. 27:51. A door opens into a pas- 
sage which leads to the apartments of the Greeks in 
another direction. Separated from it, is the Latin Chapel 
marking the spot where Christ was nailed to the cross. 
Near the "Altar of Adam" and behind it in the apse, is 
an opening closed by a wire grating through which they 
show you the rock of Calvary and a cleft of the natural 
rock. According to a strange early tradition, Adam was 
buried at Golgotha. We are told that the blood of Christ 
flowing down through this cleft is supposed to have fal- 

72, 



len on the skull of the first man, Adam, and raised him 
to life. This tradition is believed to be the origin of the 
skull representation beneath the feet of Christ on a 
crucifix. 

The great Cistern of Constantine still remains and 
retains its original features of great depth and large di- 
mensions. Near-by are the tombs of Godfrey de Bouillon 
and Baldwin the First. Relics of these heroes, honored 
for their sacrifices and triumph, fill a chamber of the 
Greek church. Not far away is the edifice known as the 
House of Caiaphas, though there is no just cause to re- 
gard it as the genuine site. This is near the Armenian 
Cemetery referred to elsewhere and it is here we are 
shown the spot where the cock crew. How they know 
that this is the spot, they do not explain, only that so the 
story runs. On emerging from the doorway of the house 
of Caiaphas, we come to the place railed Coenaculum, or 
the upper chamber where the last supper of our Lord with 
His disciples is said to have been spread. After paying 
the fee for admission, we are ushered in. From the 
earliest centuries, the descent of the Holy Ghost on the 
day of Pentecost is thought to have taken place here. 
The whole work of the building seems to date from the 
14th century, though they point out the very stone on 
which the disciples sat while the Lord washed their feet. 
In a room adjoining, covered with a gaudy spread, is a 
sarcophagus which, they tell us, is an exact imitation of 
the cofifin of David in the- sepulchers below. Strange that 
this building, which originally belonged to the Franciscan 
monks, has been in the possession of the Moslems for 
nearly four centuries. 

Having visited the traditional site of Calvary within 
74 



the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, I must invite the 
reader to the Gordon Calvary outside the present walls, 
which thousands of tourists believe is the true Calvary. 
We will pass out of the Damascus Gate and across the 
road which runs parallel with the northern wall of the 
city. A remarkably shaped limestone cliff and mound, 
some five minutes' walk from the old natural rock wall 
of the ancient city, is the place which Gen. Gordon dis- 
covered and labeled Golgotha. The garden tomb is pre- 
served and controlled by an English society who collect 
the admission fee through the keeper who resides in the 
place. Of course, this location, which appeals to many 
travelers because of the garden tomb, the spring of fresh 
water beneath, and the circumstance of its being un- 
doubtedly "without the walls" and outside the gate, is 
rejected by all tradition and faith of the Christian priests 
and pilgrims of both Greek and Latin Churches. A 
drink from the under-ground spring referred to, a quiet 
rest in the shade, a snap-shot of the tomb and a pleasing 
survey of the surroundings of the Gordon calvary and 
garden, make a deep impression upon our hearts and 
compel us to wish, at least, that this might be the spot 
where our Lord was crucified. If we cannot find the 
place where the Lord lay, we shall hope to see Him upon 
His throne. 



75 



IX. 
BEYOND THE WALLS 

OLOMON'S quarries are underneath the north wall 
of the city, being entered from an outside street. 
This cavern is believed to extend as far as the 
Temple Area, though it is as yet unexplored. It is so 
named because tradition tells us that the stones used for 
the building of Solomon's Temple were hewn in these 
underground caverns and thus made ready, were conveyed 
to the House of the Lord and placed "so that there was 
neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the 
house, while it was building" (Kings (i'.J^. Candles must 
be carried, permission obtained from the Turkish keepers, 
and great care taken as one's way is threaded through 
the declivities where there are marks of the mason's tools 
and the niches where they placed their lamps. Some large 
blocks are nearly detached from the mother rock. There 
is unfinished work which connects it with the activities 
so marked in Scripture history. 

The "Tombs of the Kings", not far away, are well 
worth a visit ; for here there are excellent specimens af 
rocky excavations. Twenty- four broad rock steps with 
water channels cut on either side leading into cisterns at 
the farther end, lead to a roomy rock-cut court ninety by 
eighty feet. Further on we are admitted to the real 
tombs which are entered through a low passage formerly 
closed by a great rolling stone which is still to be seen 

1^ 




Donkeys at Damascus Gate, Jerusalem. 




Street Scene, Jerusalem. 



in its groove. There are many receptacles that are sup- 
posed to have been the burial places of high rank per- 
sons. It is generally agreed that they are the family cata- 
combs of Helena, a Jewish proselyte who settled in 
Jerusalem after her husband's death about 48 A, D. 

Passing homeward through the burning sunshine, 
we will turn our camera upon a drove of donkeys stand- 
ing in the market place by the wall, and other street 
scenes, and finally rest ourselves on the hillside where we 
may enter and enjoy the Schick exhibit of the models of 
the Temple in its various reconstructions. Every visitor 
may well look upon these rare models which have been 
seldom equalled and are backed by the authority of long 
time residence and most scholarly study. 

Another half-day finds us driving out of the road 
northeast to Scopus and the picturesque ridge and range 
of hills which lead us back to Mt. Olivet and the Church 
of the Ascension. It is a rare afternoon with a clear 
sky and long vision. Ascending the tower we have a 
thrilling view, not only of the city from the east looking 
westward and south, but of the plains of Judea and the 
distant Judean hills towards the Dead Sea. This is with- 
out doubt the place from which our Master ascended and 
where He bade the disciples an affectionate farewell as 
a cloud received Him out of their sight. The "Stone of 
Ascension" is shown us, where we pause to rest. Cer- 
tainly we are not far from the foot-prints of Him who 
is to come again in glory and who once departed from this 
sacred hill. 

After tender meditation we reverently walk down 
over the stony and precipitate road which leads us near 
the Russian church and into the next most sacred 

77 



spot of all the Holy Land, the Garden of Gethsemane. 
Here again our doubts disappear. We feel assured that 
we are near the place of Christ's night of agony and 
prayer. A kind monk who keeps the Garden, gives us 
a hearty welcome, bidding us pluck flowers and rest in 
the shadow of the great olive tree, whose gnarled trunk 
and spreading branches look as if they had seen centuries 
of life. We are not in a hiirry now. Our party is quiet. 
Our conductor opens his New Testament and reads the 
four Gospel accounts of the sacred night of prayer with 
the disciples. One of our number offers a prayer while 
we all bow in reverence and gratitude. The sunshine 
touches the fragrant flowers with the kiss of heaven, 
while our souls are bathed in the atmosphere of devotion. 
We carry from the place emotions and memories never to 
be forgotten. 

The Russian church up the hillside contains paint- 
ings of the rarest kind and is itself a monument of vener- 
ation and religious life most creditable to the country 
who reared it at a nation's expense and who sustains it 
by permission of the Turkish government. 

Near to the garden and a few rods farther to the 
north is the Virgin's Tomb. The entrance to this place 
is a stone doorway with a broad flight of marble steps 
leading down to a chapel and shrine where enthusiastic 
and credulous tourists are shown the actual sarcophagus 
of the Virgin, the tomb of Joseph and the tombs of the 
Virgin's parents, and other relics. 

The Valley of Kedron that leads from this spot down 
to the Pool of Siloam beyond the Valley of Hinnom and 
the Dung Gate, contains no surface water, except in the 
rainy season. The Pool of Siloam is fed by water which 

78 



flows through an artificial tunnel from the Virgin's 
Fountain. This Siloam Tunnel is supposed to have been 
cut by Hezekiah to convey water from the Valley of Je- 
hoshaphat to this pool, in which was discovered in 1880, 
the famous "Siloam Inscription" now in the museum at 
Constantinople. It is surely the same valley and this is 
the same road that was often and again trod and crossed 
by Apostles in our Savior's day as well as by kings, 
prophets and priests in all the historic past. 

Having compassed the city, we must take a drive 
down the Bethlehem road. After leaving the Jaffa Gate 
at Jerusalem, we climb a high steep hill, pass on our right 
some almshouses, on our left the British Ophthalmic 
Hospital, and continue our way along this road of the 
ages towards the "House of Bread." This highway to 
Bethlehem cuts the Plain of Rephaim, or Valley of the 
Giants, where David had more than one conflict with the 
Philistines (II Sam. 5:18-25). Ascending the hill we 
come to the "Well of the Magi." The well itself, from 
which we draw water but are forbidden to drink, gives 
forth a strange echo. Tradition tells the story that the 
wise men, trudging along this road from Jerusalem, sat 
down to rest. While stooping to draw water, they saw 
to their surprise, the reflection of the star which they 
saw in the east and "the star which they saw in the east 
went before them till it came and stood over where the 
young child was." 

In a few minutes we reach the site of Rachel's Tomb. 
The Bible story tells us that "Rachel died and was buried 
on the way to Ephrath which was Bethlehem" (Gen. 
35:19). The main road here branches off to Hebron. 
We enter the dome-covered building containing the tomb 

79 



of Rachel. This burial place has little doubt connected 
with it. It must be near the spot. Today it is crowded 
with forty pilgrims who. with tears and prayers as they 
are seated and standing about the wall surrounding the 
tomb, pay sincere tribute to their spiritual grandmother 
while they offer their prayers and read their sacred 
Scriptures in deep devotion and great commotion. It 
was a rare fortune to find the tomb open on our arrival ; 
for, like the "Wailing Place" in Jerusalem, it revealed the 
strong hold that tradition has upon these pilgrim Chris- 
tians and Jews. 

x-V short distance farther on our way, we have a mag- 
nificent view of the terraced fields, vineyards and or- 
chards round the suburbs of Bethlehem. We enter the 
village and find the Bethlehem Court, probably unchanged 
for two thousand years, used partly as a village loafing 
place and partly as a sheep market. The inhabitants, 
both men and women, are comparatively of an intelligent 
ancestry. The garb of the women is different from what 
we find in Jerusalem and other parts of Palestine. Their 
faces are more beautiful and seem to reflect the Scripture 
character of Ruth and Naomi. The men and boys in 
shops and stores seem to be industrious. The manufac- 
ture of various souvenirs out of mother-of-pearl, olive 
wood, etc., makes the village famous and constitutes a 
noted shopping place for tourists. At the farther end of 
the village and court-yard, we are confronted by the 
Church of the Nativity. - 

Saint Jerome, who died A. D. 420 and spent many 
years in the village confirms the Scripture story of the 
Nativity. He spent the greater part of his life among 
the inhabitants of Bethlehem. There is every reason, 

So 



therefore, to suppose that Constantine's Church built 
upon this spot, celebrates the exact location of the Kahn 
where Jesus was born. This is the oldest existing church 
of Christendom where Christian worship has continued 
unbroken. Crossing the large pavement in front of the 
church, we note the porch and the interesting old nave 
which is flanked on either side by a double row of aisles. 
A portion of this church is set apart for the Greek, 
another portion for the Armenian, Christians. The win- 
dows and other portions of these chapels look shabby 
because poorly kept, through jealousy of religious fac- 
tions. 

Underneath the central platform is a crypt which is 
reached by a flight of steps down to the "Grotto of the 
Alanger." This, we are told, is the actual place of 
Nativity. Underneath are altars decorated with costly 
hanging lamps. The silver star is fixed in the pavement, 
round which is the Latin inscription which reads, "Here 
Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary." The natural 
rock of the cavern is clearly visible, though the whole 
place has been turned into a chapel. Passing through at 
the farther end of the chapel, is a passage way in the 
solid rock through which we reach a small chamber with 
an altar representing the dream of Joseph, ordering his 
flight into Egypt. Another chamber contains the tomb of 
Saint Jerome and his female disciples, Paula and Eustachia. 
At the north end of this chapel of Saint Jerome, is point- 
ed out his study room where he spent most of his life in 
translating the Bible into Latin version called the Vul- 
gate. ^ 

Leaving the hallowed place of Jesus' birth, we 
walk into the court and out to the open street and climb 

Si 



the wall at the edge of the village, -where we have a 
beautiful view of the Field of the Shepherds. The place, 
however, is celebrated by a grotto, the "Cave of the 
Shepherds." This grotto idea is very common through- 
out Palestine. The fertility of Bethlehem and vicinity 
is in great contrast with the stony desert-like hillsides 
and valleys beyond. In the, olive groves and vineyards, 
stone Avatch towers appear in many directions, which 
shelter the guards who protect their fruit and crops by 
night. In some parts, arbors made of branches and 
boughs of trees constitute a "lodge in a garden." Whole 
families sometimes summer in these lodges or towers. 
The blessing of the Most High seems to rest upon this 
beautiful Bethlehem, the house of the "Bread which came 
down from heaven." 

If there is sufficient time alloted for your visit to 
Jerusalem, the greater part of two days should be spent 
in a trip to Jericho and the Jordan valley. Starting early 
and driving around the north wall of Jerusalem and 
eastward past the Garden of Gethsemane, we follow the 
road so often trod by the Master on His way to Olivet. 
We soon halt at Bethany. This is the most convenient 
opportunity to visit the tomb of Lazarus, the house of 
Mary and Martha, and other points of interest in this 
famous Jerusalem residence of our Lord. The tomb of 
Lazarus, now a Moslem shrine, is entered by a deep de- 
scent of twenty stone steps. It is a roomy cave in the 
rock beneath, and doubtless once belonged to a wealthy 
and prosperous Jew. After a long enough stay, the read- 
ing of the eleventh of John revives the story of the mir- 
acle concerning Lazarus and his sisters, Martha and 
Mary. In ascending the steps, we are impressed with the 

82 



fact that if this is the depth of the tomb from which he 
came, that there was an appropriateness in the loud voice 
with which he was called, and the miracle included a lift 
as well as life. We find it not hard to believe that this 
is the real tomb. The traditional home of Mary and Mar- 
tha is a less likely spot, though the locality is without 
doubt the real Bethany village of our Lord's day. 

Incidentally, we look in here upon a Moslem school 
of thirty-five children, all studying in noisy concert from 
printed platters of wood as from plates or slates, and 
all swaying to and fro as they continue, with glancing eye 
at the strangers, while the teacher looks up with a smile 
of welcome. Of course there are no girls here. They 
are excluded by Mohammedan custom. They call it a 
school, though with us, it seems only like a damp and 
dismal cellar, inferior to an American resort of swine or 
temporary shelter for sheep. Escaping from the dirty 
and importunate beggars that inhabit the neighborhood, 
we are glad to wend our way down the steep path to our 
carriages and hasten on our way along the now well 
graded road towards the Inn of the Good Samaritan. 

At the bottom of the hill, there is a wayside spring 
which Christians call the "Apostles' Fountain." Here our 
Lord and His apostles must have frequently stopped on 
their journey between Jerusalem and Jericho. It is the 
last natural water supply on the road to the Jordan val- 
ley. Meeting and overtaking many pilgrims, some on 
foot, some on donkeys and others in carriages, we pass the 
strange red strata of rocks which come to the surface 
in the hill sides along the way. We will halt at the Good 
Samaritan Inn on the hill. This half way house between 
Jerusalem and Jericho, is a typical walled stone shelter- 

83 



house for the refreshment of man and beast. It must 
have been an elegant retreat for the man who fell among 
thieves in the Good Samaritan's day. The rain is drip- 
ping through the roof, but we find it a good resting 
place, being entertained by the relics and refreshed with 
the hot coffee. 

Our next stop on the way to Jericho is the cliff over- 
looking the Monastery of Saint George. This Greek 
Chapel is perched upon the rock above the valley and 
winding path. The brook, called Cherith, at the bottom of 
the cliff never runs quite dry and is said to be the one from 
which Elijah drank when he was fed by the ravens, or 
as some read it, by the Arabs. Whether these dry moun- 
tainous barren hills of Judea are wanting in fertility be- 
cause the timber was anciently removed and the soil 
washed into the valleys, or whether it is a blighting curse 
on this land that rejected Christ as the Messiah, is a fit 
subject for conversation as we pass down this famous 
road, though we may not be able to reach a satisfactory 
conclusion. The occasional flock of goats, the passing 
donkey, and the aged pilgrim who trudges along the pike, 
all seem to partake of the poverty of the country. The 
lonely and hidden road seems a very appropriate resort 
for thieves and Arabian robbers ; but our party are safe 
and will soon rejoice in the first view of the Dead Sea 
and the Jordan plain. 

After reaching the modern Jericho, we drive a mile 
up the valley to see Elijah's Spring and the Jericho of 
Joshua's day. The spring which bears the prophet's name 
because of his having sweetened it in his day, is utilized 
in a reservoir near Old Jericho. This water now irrigates 
the surrounding plain, dotted with gardens and orchards, 



and also supplies with water the inhabitants of the mod- 
ern Jericho just behind us. The remains of the old city 
whose walls were leveled by divine power after Joshua's 
march around it, are still to be seen. Recent explorations 
by a German society has revealed large stones and ancient 
homes, the construction of which could scarcely be ex- 
celled by modern engineering. The commanding position 
of this site at the head of the plain, guarding the entrance 
to the pass above in the rocky mountain west of the hill, 
shows the wisdom of choosing this location for an ancient 
fort. It was up this pass that Joshua ascended to Ai 
after the destruction of Jericho. We are in sight of a wild 
range known in early times as Mount Quarantana, from 
the tradition which makes it the scene of our Lord's forty 
days' fast and temptation in the wilderness. 

Returning to our hotel for noonday lunch, we pre- 
pare for a drive across the plain of Jericho towards the 
Dead Sea. There are scanty patches of flowers and grass, 
although the plain is too saturated with salt for the sup- 
port of any extensive vegetation. The carriage road is 
a varied track over the plain, across a steep banked wady, 
meandering for some six miles to the shore of the Dead 
Sea. We are now at the northern shore, not far from the 
mouth of the Jordan. This sea is the lowest body of 
water on the earth's surface, being 1300 feet below the 
level of the Mediterranean and 4000 feet below the sum- 
mit of the Mount of Olives. Our party scatter for a stroll 
in different directions along the edge of the lake. Some 
are prepared to take a bath in the salty waves, which, to 
the inexperienced, is somewhat dangerous on a windy 
day. The peril is from the saline character of the water 
rather than from drowning; for one cannot sink in this 

85 



salty liquid. The sea is forty-seven miles long and five 
miles across. It has extraordinary specific gravity, an 
acrid taste and is incapable of supporting animal or vege- 
table life. Whether its waves lie smooth as a sheet of 
glass in the summer's sun or dash upon the sandy and 
rocky shore as it is lashed by the fury of the winds, there 
is a lonely charm about its desolation. The surrounding 
plain is the hottest, at some seasons of the summer, to be 
found in the world ; and one can almost imagine that the 
city of Sodom, which stood probably at the southwest end 
of the sea, could have been consumed by spontaneous 
combustion. 

After an hour's rest and study of this strange inland 
sea, a drive across the plain brings us to a popular resort 
on the Jordan river, a place not far from the crossing of 
the childern of Israel. It is now a frequent resort of pil- 
grims, who bathe in this muddy stream and wash their 
shrouds which they bring with them, as a preparation 
for a peaceful death. There are no "stormy banks" of 
Jordan here today ; the waters are calm and the sun 
gloriously bright. Our little party divides into two boat 
loads and we have a long ride up the stream and find it 
delightful recreation. After taking a snap-shot of the 
water, the boats and the bathing pilgrims, and after re- 
freshing our minds with the history of this locality, we 
return across the salty and now barren plain to the little 
tavern in the modern town of Jericho. Bedouin tents, 
flocks of cattle, goats and sheep are scattered along the 
way. The natives crowd round our carriages and follow 
us with importuning cries for baksheesh. As the night 
comes on, a strong wind accompanied by rain reconciles 
us to the indoor shelter as heavy clouds and the shadows 



gather about us. We have taken a bottle of water from 
the Jordan river and must watch that it is well boiled 
and returned safely to the bottle as a souvenir. We 
carefully deposit it in our grip with the pebbles from the 
Dead Sea and other slight mementoes which contribute 
to make this day one of the most memorable in our whole 
Oriental journey. 

Rising early, we leave this wretched and apparently 
blighted village at 6 A. M. A stiff breeze blows and the 
rain continues to fall during our long and disagreeable 
drive up the road past the Samaritan Inn to our home 
hotel in Jerusalem. Most of our party are soaked and 
bedraggled, if not chilled, in this remarkable downfall 
which, however discomforting to tourists, becomes a rare 
blessing, particularly to Jerusalem inhabitants, who are 
rejoicing in an inch fall of rain which came just in time 
to prevent water famine and great distress among the 
people. Coming up the road from the Samaritan Inn, 
we pass the reputed tomb of Moses. Nobody can tell us 
how they found out from the angels where he was buried, 
but here is his tomb, according to tradition, inside the 
promised land though he Jiimself was not permitted to 
enter alive. 

Saturday afternoon brings a few hours of leisure 
and the privilege of shopping about the streets and 
suburbs of the city. Some of our party are permitted to 
visit the lepers' home across the hill. This is a perfectly 
safe place to visit, though the sight taxes the sympathy 
of the stranger who beholds the suffering and misery of 
the pitiable inmates. What an inspiration to find in this 
land of distress, poverty and sin, such a glorious illus- 

87 



tration of Christian charity and exhibition of the Christly 
spirit as found in this institution ! 

My second Sabbath in Jerusalem brings the high 
privilege of preaching the Gospel at the Church of the 
American Missionary Alhance, at lo A. M. The text, 
"Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you," heads 
a simple message delivered to the mission students and 
many visitors from many lands. The Sunday School and 
educational work in this mission, as well as that of several 
other schools in and about the city, furnishes a hopeful 
outlook for the religious life of the growing population 
of Jerusalem. It seems to be the opinion of the long resi- 
dent missionary teachers of the Protestant faith, that the 
hope of Palestine and particularly of ancient Jerusalem, 
is to be found first in the teachings and exemplification of 
a pure Christianity. 

There are many who think also that the return of the 
Jews to Palestine and the possession and control of the 
country by the Jews, according to prophecy, will solve 
the problems of both the land and the people. 




On the Way Across Plains to Nazareth. 




Mt. Tabor from Hill above Nazareth. 



X. 

OVER HILL AND PLAIN TO 
NAZARETH 

AT 7 o'clock, Monday, April 27th, we are called to 
our carriages in which is loaded our baggage pre- 
paratory to a forty-mile ride across the country to 
Nablous and thence through Samaria to Tiberias by the 
Sea of Galilee. We will take our farewell view of the walls 
of the city and the surrounding hills while we drive slowly 
over the winding and stony roads leading northward. The 
rocky fields covered with flowers, the burdened pilgrims on 
their way to market, the loaded donkeys and camels, 
crowd our carriages. The ever changing panorama of 
hillside and valley deepens our impression of this pic- 
turesque land. 

Our first stop is at El Bireh, which is the ancient 
Beeroth. This village, abundantly supplied with water, 
lying on the slope of a beautiful valley head, furnishes a 
fine view of the Holy City twelve miles south. An old 
tradition says this is the village where the parents of 
Jesus first discovered that the child was not among the 
pilgrims returning homeward from the feast (Luke 2:44- 
45). From this halting place it is a half -hour's drive to 
Bethel, leading to the right. Here the forlorn and deso- 
late surroundings recall the lonely night which Jacob 



spent with the angels for his attendants and God for his 
keeper. Bethel occupies the summit of one of the prin- 
cipal roads between the Mediterranean and the Jordan. 
It marked the natural boundary between Ephraim on the 
north and Benjamin on the south. 

From this point, every mile of our journey brings us 
into a more attractive and fruitful district. The whole 
country round about is sacred to the memory of Bible 
history. Shiloh is not far away. Our carriage road 
towards Shechem leads us forward until a most beautiful 
plain with zig-zag roads opens before us down the hill- 
side. We stop at a ruined khan at the foot of a hill and 
take our lunch under the trees where Christ, by tradition, 
spent the night before his memorable interview with the 
woman of Samaria at Jacob's well. 

Descending into the plain, we pass Hawarah on the 
hillside, noted for beggars who race to meet us and fol- 
low our carriages two or three miles down the road plead- 
ing all the way for coin. What a lazy life these country 
villagers live ! How persistent their beggary ! How 
miserable their condition ! In a couple of hours we are 
at Jacob's Well, one of the most holy sites of Palestine. 
There can be little doubt that this is the place named in the 
New Testament narrative. We enter the enclosure which 
now belongs to the Greeks. It is covered by a chapel where 
an attendant lets down a light over the curb stone where 
the weary Master sat at the noon hour. We sight the 
water seventy-five feet below and drink frorh the same 
well that quenched the thirst of our Lord and of pilgrims 
innumerable down the centuries. Like all spring water 
in Palestine, it is luke warm and tastes flat ; only the water 
from the snow covered mountains seems fit to drink. 

90 



A few hundred yards to the north of the well, at the 
base of Mount Ebal, is the small village of Sychar where 
the woman of Samaria lived; and near it, in easy view, 
is the high domed sepulcher, recently renewed, which 
marks the place of Joseph's tomb. 

Returning to our carriages, we turn west into the 
beautiful valley and soon arrive at Nablous, the famous 
Shechem between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim. Ebal, to the 
north, is barren and desolate with scarcely a sign of 
vegetation. The lower slopes of Gerizim on the south, 
at the foot of which is our hotel, are clothed with 
foliage, fruit and flowers. Gerizim looks like the "Mount 
of Blessing" while sterile Ebal is indeed the "Mount of 
Cursing." The natural outline of the mountainsides 
shows the possibility, in Joshua's day, of the "Amen" 
shout being heard from one mountain to the other, for 
on the sides of both Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim 
there are natural amphitheatres which act as sounding- 
boards. One speaking loudly and in clear voice can be 
heard across the valley (Deut. 27:12-15). Mount Ebal 
rises 3000 feet above the level of the sea, and 12,000 feet 
above the valley of Shechem. The view from its sum- 
mit gives a fine glimpse of Carmel, of the Plain of Es- 
draelon and the mountains of Galilee. Mount Gerizim 
is not so high, but has greater historical interest. Along 
the base of Gerizim there are eighty abundant springs of 
pure fresh water. On its top is an old Samaritan temple 
referred to by the woman of Samaria (John 4:20). The 
greater part of the mass of ruins at the summit belongs 
to a church and castle erected in the sixth century. 
Twelve great stones near the foundation of the castle 
are declared to be the indentical stones taken out of 

91 



the bed of Jordan during the crossing of the IsraeHtes in 
Joshua's day. 

The village of Nablous where we spend the night 
is one of the oldest in Palestine. It is the first city in the 
Holy Land mentioned in the Bible (Gen. 12:6). The 
miserable inhabitants, as we enter the village, are forming 
a funeral procession in the little grave yard. The boys of 
the city are insolent and beggarly and inclined to throw 
stones at our party, so that it is not safe to go out alone 
in the evening. Before night settles, we must visit the 
synagogue of the Samaritans. Their number has 
dwindled to one hundred eighty people. After a dismal 
trip through narrow, filthy streets, beset by lepers and 
beggars, we come at last to the house of the Samaritan 
high priest. He is undoubtedly a lineal descendant of the 
ancient Ephraimites. Here we see the world-famed Sa- 
maritan manuscript roll, scrupulously guarded, bearing 
evidence of being ancient enough, if it be not the original 
manuscript of the Pentateuch and book of Joshua. After 
paying our fee and taking our look, we retire full of 
wonder and meditations. How sad to hunt the footsteps 
of Jesus and find no Jesus-men in the country ! Surely 
gross darkness has come upon the people. A little while 
was the light with them. They rejected it and darkness 
reigns. What a lesson for those who receive conviction 
and reject Gospel light ! Today has furnished a comment 
on the non-progressive spirit of this land. Men and 
women are plowing, reaping flax, pulling weeds, in the 
same manner and with the same implements of 2000 years 
ago. Either they are perfect in work like the bee or as 
far behind this age as was Ishmael. I cannot indite the 
emotions that are stirred by treading the sacred ground 



about Shechem. It requires a journey to the spot to realize 
the flood of thought and feehng that rushes upon one's 
soul in the presence of such hallowed memories. It is 
good, it is great, to be here. 

Leaving Shechem at 8 A. M., we pass the heavily 
loaded camels in the highway and the caravan of resting 
camels in the edge of the village. I note the water con- 
duits built in arched stone and running from hillside 
springs to reservoirs, some of them now in disuse. Two 
miles northwest we pass the ancient Tirzah, "Delight." 
It is beautifully located and once shared the honors with 
Shechem of being the capital city of the northern king- 
dom. In Solomon's Song 6:4, the Church as spouse is 
referred to in the words "Thou art beautiful as Tirzah." 
After an hour's drive we dismount and leave the road for 
a walk across the fields and a climb up the hill through 
an orchard by a winding path to the summit of Samaria. 
A native boy, pert and persistent in his manners, offers 
his guiding step and chatter. He volunteers to show us 
the best road to take and, for reasons best known to him- 
self, insists on faithfully acompanying us for the next 
hour. Of course his reward is sure. 

We come first to the alleged tomb of John Baptist, 
over which is a church. The tomb is ten feet under- 
ground and shut in securely by rock. The minaret of a 
Moslem mosque covers the remains of an old crusader's 
church of St. John Baptist built about 1160 A. D. Early 
Christian tradition places the event of John Baptist's 
death here in Samaria, while Josephus says it occurred 
east of Jordan at Machaerus. 

At the western height of Samaria Hill are the. re- 
mains of a very fine basilica. I took a view of the wreck- 

93 



ed pillars, the inotuiinents of the past. The present was 
represented by three women whom onr conductor chose 
to call the "Palestine hay-wagons." On their heads were 
great bundles of newly cut grass. These peasant women 
consented to transfer their faces and burdens to my 
camera — for consideration. Crossing the hill we come 
to the remains of the Caesarea Gate of Herod's city. 
These may be the ruins of Ahab's palace when king of 
Samaria; if so, this is the Bible scene of II Kings 6:24 
and 7 :20. Perhaps, below in the plain, the Syrian camp 
was pitched. To this gate came the four lepers who sat 
at the entrance of the city and said. "Why sit we here 
until we die?" It was here that the brave prophet Elijah 
came to rebuke Ahab and foretell the long drouth soon 
to visit the land. 

While our party rested on the steps I took a view of 
our companion tourists from the statue said to be erected 
to represent Herod Caesar. The extensive ruins show 
how greatly they valued this as a site for a temple, palace 
or tower. Farther down the hillside are the remains of 
the colonnade of two thousand columns in two parallel 
rows, one hundred sixty of which may yet be counted. 
The remains of the Greek Amphitheatre erected by 
Herod the Great mark, it may be, the location of some 
magnificent but demolished temple. Samaria was a 
place of great strength and beauty. It is six miles north- 
west of Shechem, built on an oblong hill rising 1542 feet 
above the level of the sea. It is encircled by a broad deep 
valley and hills beyond, and from this height one may 
view the Mediterranean in the distance. This city was 
in its glory 920 B.C. Tirzah and Shechem had been 
ca]>itals of Israel, then Samaria became the head city for 

94 




Women of Samaria laden with Hay. 




Ruins on Samaria's Hill. 



two hundred years until the captivity of the ten tribes. 
It soon became the seat of idolatry, and the prophets 
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and Micah prophesied hard 
things against it. Ahab built here a temple for Baal (I 
Kings 16:32), which temple was destroyed by Jehu (II 
Kings 10:26-28). The desolate ruins on this ancient hill 
and the massive stones lying about are a most impressive 
comment upon Scripture prophecy. In Micah 1:1., we 
read, "I will make Samaria as a heap of the field and as 
plantings of a vineyard, and I will pour down the stones 
thereof into the valley." All this desolation is to be seen 
around this hill where once stood the splendid city of 
Samaria. Memories of the record of Ahab, of Jezebel, 
of Elijah and of Herod crowd upon us. There are seen all 
about this historic hill, traces of the vine terraces and re- 
mains of threshing floors used in the latter days by the 
Arabs. Returning to the top of the hill, we get another 
view of the barren hills and desolate plains which testify 
to the fulfillment of God's threatenings upon the sins of 
His people. We follow our guide down the long slope of 
Samaria and overtake our carriages in the valley, where 
we are struck with the miserable modern life of the farm- 
ing populace. Turning eastward we ride along the plain 
of Dothan, still called by that name, where that historic 
town once stood. We are crossing the plain now where 
Joseph's brethren were feeding their flocks when he came 
to visit them. Here they sold him to the Ishmaelites who 
were conveying loads of spices to Egypt. We are now 
upon one of the most ancient highways of the world which 
was once the principal trade route between the Euphrates 
valley and Egypt. Elisha was dwelling at Dothan when 
the Syrians were sent to capture him. Here his servant 

95 



saw the vision of the chariots and horsemen appointed as 
a divine protection against their enemies. We reach 
Jenin at 3 130 P. M. This village is remarkable for its 
abundant springs from which water rushes in a great 
stream through the village and is utilized in reservoirs 
for irrigation. The view of Mount Carmel, the groves 
and prosperous fields in the plain below the village, en- 
tertains the tourist while the gardens and mulberry trees 
furnish refreshment and restful pleasure. 

The route from Jenin to Nazareth extends north 
across the plains of Esdraelon. After taking a last look 
at the palm trees and great cactus hedges in the suburbs 
of Jenin, we pass great flocks of sheep with their shep- 
herds along the plain, and small villages and a white- 
domed Moslem shrine on the hills. A ruined tower oc- 
cupies the heights and possibly marks the site of the 
watch tower of Jezreel. Widespread fenced fields reveal 
the best type of cultivation which we have found any- 
where in Palestine. This is the heart of the great battle- 
field of Israel. On the plain land about us occurred the 
memorable battle between Barak and Sisera (Judges 4). 
A short distance to the east in the valley of Jezreel, Gid- 
eon utterly defeated the Midianites (Judges 7:1-23). 
The "Fountain in Jezreel" where Saul and his army 
camped is not far away. Shunem, the place where the 
Philistines encamped when they came up against Saul, 
was the home of the Shunamite woman as recorded in II 
Kings 4 :8-37. Stirring events of Old Testament history 
attach to the scenes and villages along this plain. The 
battle of Mount Tabor between the Turks and the army of 
Napoleon the Great in 1799 was fought in this neighbor- 
hood. Looking towards the north on the Galilean hills 

q6 




i^^^^ 




Nazareth Women Returning With Water Jars from Mary's Well. 





Mission School in Nazareth. 



we discern a few of the white houses of Nazareth. It will 
be an hour before we reach the foot hills though, in the 
clear atmosphere, they seem quite near at hand. 

The cultivation of the fields is on a larger scale than 
we have seen. On one plantation we count seven modern 
plows and planters drawn by mules or horses. This plain 
of Esdraelon is largely owned by a Beirut landlord who 
is making an effort to introduce modern machinery. If 
the laws of the country shall encourage or permit im- 
proved implements, this soil is capable of the largest pos- 
sibilities. 



y7 



XL 
NAZARETH AND GALILEE 

WHEN we reach the foothills of Galilee, the 
stronger members of our party descend from 
the carriages to relieve our weary horses. Again 
and again as we walk up the steep hill, we turn for a view 
of the beautiful plain we have left behind us. The sum- 
mit at last crossed, picturesque Nazareth, bowered in ven- 
dure, breaks on our view. "Can any good thing come out 
of Nazareth ?" It is still a miserable and uninviting town. 
Our welcome is the best part of the hotel accomodations at 
this place. We spend an hour in the enjoyment of Ara- 
bian songs and in conversation with our host and the street 
venders who press about our hotel for tourist patronage. 
Nazareth is famous only because Jesus lived here. It 
was probably never more populous than today, with 
10,000 inhabitants, mostly Christians. There are numer- 
ous well managed institutions of religion and philan- 
thropy in the village, mostly under English patronage. 
The Protestant orphanage on the elevated terrace above 
the tov/n is most worthy of a visit. In the Church Mis- 
sionary School we rest and talk with the sixty-four girls 
and their teachers. The school is of a high Christian 
tone and the girls exhibit the results of superior training. 
They make the most of this boyhood home of Jesus. It 
is pleasing to hear these Christian girls, taken from 



native homes, sing such songs as this one: 

"We are Httle Nazareth children, 
And our Father placed our home 
'Mid the olive trees and vineyards 
Where the Savior used to roam. 

For the Lord, who loves the children. 
And was glad to hear their praise, 
Cares that Nazareth children know Him, 
Do His will and choose His ways." 

And we know that He is coming. 
Every knee to Him shall bow, 
And the joyous shouts to greet Him 
Shall begin in Nazareth now." 

Again, they repeat this tribute to their Master and 
King : 

"O Nazareth, lovely Nazareth, 
Name ever dear to me ; 
For Jesus played and Jesus prayed, 
A happy boy in thee. 

But now to that fair city. 
We need not go today. 
Jesus is near ; Jesus is here 
To listen as we pray." 

A pure and intense Gospel life is the only redemp- 
tion for the modern inhabitants of Galilee. We have not 
time to visit the medical mission and other Church insti- 
tutions. We must visit the Franciscan Monastery at- 
tached to the Church of the Annunciation. The old monk 
who takes us through the premises speaks good English. 

99 



He shows us the double altar recently built and the 
chapel in process of construction ; also, Murillo's original 
painting of the boy Jesus, and Joseph with the Mother 
near by. It is, perhaps, the sweetest and best original 
painting found in Palestine. A beautiful edifice has been 
built over the traditional site of the Virgin's home. In 
a crypt beneath the high altar the tourist is shown the 
room where the Angel Gabriel is said to have appeared 
to Alary ; also the traditional Mary's kitchen and Joseph's 
workshop. 

A Jewish synagogue, now converted into a Greek 
church, possibly was in existence in the time of Christ 
and is said, with some measure of probability, to be the 
place where Jesus delivered his memorable first discourse 
(Luke 4:16-30), which so aroused the hatred of His 
fellovv^ citizens that they hurried Him to the brow of 
the hill to cast Him down headlong. The Mount of 
Precipitation, or "Brow of the Hill" is a questionable 
site about which there is much division of opinion. It 
seems most likely that it was the hill above the orphanage 
from which a most enchanting view may be had ofMount 
Carmel and the Sea, the mountains across Jordan, Mount 
Tabor, Little Hermon, Mount Gilboa, Mount Hermon to 
the north and other transporting views of earth, sea and 
sky. 

But, best of all, this is Jesus' own town. He walked 
these same streets for thirty years and there can be no 
doubt that He passed His life among this same kind of 
townsmen. He went into the synagogue with the anoint- 
ing of the Spirit upon Him and said "This day is this 
Scripture fulfilled." But how few of the people seemed 
to know or feel the wonderful power of the Christ spirit ! 



We dare not leave the village until the most interesting 
spot in Nazareth is seen: namely, the so-called Mary's 
Well in the valley east of the town. From this spot, close 
to the Greek Church of the Annunciation, the waters are 
conducted by a stone aqueduct to the village fountain. 
This spring in the basin, from time immemorial must have 
been frequented by the women and children for water. 
We take snap-shots of many water carriers who come to 
draw water for family use and carry it away in jars upon 
their heads just as did the carpenter's wife with her Holy 
Child in the primitive Gospel days. 

Before we leave this interesting locality, let us look 
into the shop of the ancient clay potter. He is plying his 
art with a deft hand and spinning his wheel with his 
foot. After baring his arm he turns his wheel and proves 
his skill while we note the changing form of the "clay in 
the potter's hand." In his little dismal shop, this skilled 
workman spends his long day at a wage equal to five 
francs or one dollar, which is less than one-third of what 
his services would command in America. 

The time has come to leave Nazareth for Tiberias. 
The French hospital and Russian mission are passed as 
the road climbs the steep summit over-hanging Nazareth. 
From my journal, I copy these words which were written 
while yet enjoying the sights of this famous village: 
"Note before we leave it, our last view of Nazareth. It 
contains 5000 Greek Christians, 1500 Latin Christians, 
2500 Moslems, 700 Protestants, English and Baptist mis- 
sions with hospital. Eight men with the mayor, appointed 
by the sultan, constitute its municipal court. Its citizens 
are industrious and belated Nazarenes. If they had re- 
ceived their Lord 2000 years ago and had retained His 



teaching" since, they need not today have been so far 
behind the times in civiHzed comforts." 

Close to an old shrine, we pause to take a good view 
of the magnificent landscape and a last view of Nazareth. 
The road winds down rapidly into the picturesque village 
of Kefr-Kenna. This town with its conspicuous churches 
is known as Cana of Galilee. The well of Cana is shown 
us, from which water was drawn and turned into wine 
at the celebrated marriage feast (John 2:1-11). In the 
Greek church we are welcome to examine what professes 
to be the two identical water pots used on the memorable 
occasion of the marriage where Jesus performed His 
first miracle. They would probably hold about nine or 
ten gallons each. On the site of the house in which the 
wedding took place, are the ruins of a monastery and 
fragments of an ancient wall. IMount Carmel and the 
Great Sea are seen to the northwest. We enter the plain 
where lived the tribe of Naphtali. We pass a large and 
flourishing village on our right and soon arrive at the 
base of the mountain known as the Horns of Hattin. 
Near this road the most bloody and decisive battle of 
the Crusaders was fought. The Christians were defeated 
by the IMoslems. This terrible conflict, which was waged 
in defense of the doctrine of the Prince of Peace, was 
fought almost on the very spot where our Lord, by tra- 
dition, delivered His wonderful Sermon on the Mount. 
The view from the carriage road makes us believe that 
we can walk to the summit of the Mount of Beatitudes 
in ten minutes. As a matter of fact, it will take us a 
half-hour but it will well reward our toil; for here, 
where were uttered our Lord's famous words, we re-read 
this glorious and matchless sermon (Matt. 5:1) and get 

102 



our first view of the lovely waters of the Sea of Galilee. 

"A city set upon a hill cannot be hid." May Christ 
not have pointed to Safed as He uttered the words? 
Yonder it lies, twelve miles to the north like a broad 
piece of white marble upon the brown mountain side. 
It is the highest city of Galilee and is regarded by the 
Jews as one of the four sacred cities of the world ; the 
other three being Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias. I 
must photograph the members of our party while we rest 
on the Horns of Hattin and in sight of the great basin 
where the multitude might well have sat to hear the 
Master while He "spake as never man spake." Surely, 
as a recent traveler has fitly said, Palestine is an illus- 
trated edition of the Bible. 

This country has such an important relation to his- 
tory, prophecy, and the future, as to make it a coveted 
object of study by all scholars. It is not so pleasing to 
the average tourist, though the introduction of a few 
railways, good highways and comfortable hotels, makes 
it much more inviting than in former, years. The Sultan 
of Turkey has built a railroad from Damascus to Mecca, 
Arabia, partly for the accommodation of religious pil- 
grims to that Mohammedan shrine. The government is 
also about to complete a line from Gahlee to Jerusalem. 
This will connect the heart of Palestine with the ports of 
Joppa and Beirut. 

The great rocky hills and stony ground everywhere 
impiess the stranger as he tours Palestine. Even the 
plains are covered with stone ; but even with a scarcity 
of rain, flocks of goats and sheep seem to subsist. They 
are seen scattered over the mountain side or resting in the 
valleys and always attended by a peasant shepherd whose 

103 



sole daily business is to watch his flock. Watchmen 
guard the herds from trespassing on the grain which is 
mostly barley and wheat. No fences through the country 
separate the pastures or possessions. Another feature 
of the country is that the people live exclusively in stone 
or mud tile-covered dwellings grouped in villages upon 
the hillsides, some on very steep ascents, and invariably 
surrounded and protected by walls. A small village will 
report 2500 or 5000 inhabitants when a stranger would 
guess 500 as the maximum number. Of course there are 
in eastern Palestine and Syria, nomadic Bedouin who are 
the descendants of Ishmael and their dark tent homes may 
be seen here and there, particularly east of the Jordan. 
They cling to their peculiar garb, to the horse, and es- 
pecially to the sword and gun which they carry as a part 
of their necessary outfit. Hills and plains, houses and 
gardens, are dotted with varied-colored native flowers, 
adding beauty in springtime to the otherwise drear land- 
scape. 

The influence of France and England is shown by the 
predominence of the French and English languages about 
the shops and hotels. I have found that French money 
goes first in Palestine, then English, and third, the "coin of 
the realm" or Turkish money. Greek and Italian coins 
are not used in commerce. 

As we come into northern Palestine and Syria we 
find great illiteracy apparent. In Damascus and larger 
cities, barring such coa&t cities as Beirut, one never sees 
a person reading a periodical and never sees one sold on 
the streets. Perhaps ninety per cent of the people can- 
not read or write. Girls are never educated. There 
are no schools for them under Turkish government. Boys 

104 




Dancing Dervishes taken near Hot Springs on Lake Tiberias. 




Ruins of Capernaum. 



are schooled to a limited extent, if their parents pay for 
their tuition. Of course there are numerous Church 
schools conducted by the Greek and Jews, Latin 
Christians, and a few by Protestants; otherwise it 
is a country of ignorance and semi-civilization. Poverty 
waits on ignorance and native-born inhabitants are piti- 
ably wretched, though contented or stolidly indifferent 
to their helpless, if not hopeless, condition. They seem 
not to care for any different or better life. 

Nothing is more thrilling than to stand for the first 
time on the brow of the hill overlooking the blue waters 
of Galilee. The farther shore is bordered by precipitous 
cliffs, beyond which rises the gently rolling landscape. 
The hills are barren; the mountains away to the north 
reveal the magnificent snow-clad Hermon. The waving 
outlines of the shore and the blue expanse of charming 
Galilee awaken a troop of pleasing meditations. The 
Christian heart approaches these shores thinking of Him 
who taught the multitude, comforted His disciples and 
controlled the waves. The very air seems charged with 
the Master's words : hill and valley are written with large 
letters telling the Bible story which centers about this 
most beloved portion of the Holy Land. 

In Luke 5, this sea is called the Lake of Gennesaret 
which means "Garden of the Prince"; in Christ's time 
this land was a fertile region with fruits and several pop- 
ulous and prosperous villages about its shore. Isaiah calls 
it "The Sea." It is also known as the "Sea of Tiberias" 
and is, by carriage road, about one hundred miles north 
of Jerusalem. The lake itself is between twelve and 
fourteen miles long, and six to seven miles wide and is 
beautifully encircled by the hills. The Jordan, a muddy 

105 



stream, flows into it frem the north, coloring the spark- 
ling blue waters and forming an outlet at its southern 
extremity. Its depth is from one hundred to two hundred 
feet. This was really the center of trade for the 
provinces of Galilee. Near Tiberias, the water is pol- 
luted with sewage but elsewhere is fit for drinking pur- 
poses, though made somewhat brackish by salt springs 
along the shore. 

Our headquarters during our sojourn are at the 
hotel in Tiberias. The restful atmosphere at this early 
season is not so intolerably hot as a little later. It is 
gratifying that there should be served to us at our first 
meal by the sea-shore, fine fish from the sacred waters 
we have come to visit. He who cannot enjoy a 
moonlight night at this seaside is either skeptical in his 
faith or dulled in his fancy. These hallowed shores are 
so unchanged after the centuries as to leave no doubt 
about their indentity. The lake is too expansive to be 
hidden under either mosque or chapel ; neither can it be 
monopolized by sordid Christians or greedy Turks. In 
the morning we shall find ourselves rocking the waves 
on our way to Capernaum. Of course we will be for- 
given for singing again and again to the time of the boat's 
motion,. 

"O Galilee! Sweet Galilee! 
Where Jesus loved so much to be ; 

Galilee! blue Galilee! 

Come, sing thy song again to me ! ■ 

And when I read the thrilling lore, 
Of Him who walked upon the sea, 

1 long, oh, how I long once more 
To follow him in Galilee. 

106 



It is also proper that on the water and shore of this 
famous sea, we should carry our New Testament and 
read the Gospel stories of miracles and sermons of the 
Divine Master. 

Our boat ride across the lake northeastward is glo- 
rious and the day perfect. Our launch is stranded at the 
mouth of the Jordan ; but two of our boatmen, partly 
stripped, leap into the sea, Peter-like, and putting their 
shoulders to the launch, push it off the shoals. We are 
then pulled southwest to the site of Capernaum where 
we land at the steps and walk through the ruins of the 
synagogue built by the centurion in Jesus' day. The 
carvings on the stone pillars, the symbol of life repre- 
sented by the egg, and other Scripture emblems in the 
step and court decorations show the Jewish origin of 
these remains. It was a costly building with very great 
stones. The remaining floor is seen, with the stone ap- 
proach to the sea. The excavations have now ceased on 
account of the wars and the premises are kept by an old 
monk who lives near by. We tarry to meditate on the 
healing of the centurion's servant by Jesus at this spot 
and on his prophecy against Capernaum in Matthew 
1 1 :24 and Mark 6th and 8th chapters, all of which have 
been literally fulfilled. The same fulfillment of prophecy 
is noted in the case of the destroyed cities of Chorazin and 
Bethsaida. Doubtless this synagogue we have just visited 
is where Christ's wonderful discourse was spoken as 
recorded in the 6th chapter of John's Gospel. Capernaum 
was called our Lord's "own city." It was while He was 
walking on the beach near the town that He called Peter 
and Andrew to become His disciples. Here Simon's 
wife's mother was healed of her fever. His miracles 

107 



were here multiplied and again and again the waves and 
waters obeyed His voice. But alas ! the cities have been 
cast down. They were convinced by His deeds and dis- 
courses, but they rejected Him and His Gospel and today 
the very streets where He trod are obliterated and the 
buildings exterminated because they did not receive Him. 
"He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." 
"The letter killeth but the Spirit giveth Hfe." 

According to record and tradition, Tiberias was not 
the scene of Christ's ministry. Perhaps He never visited 
it, though it is one of the four sacred cities of the Jews. 
It was founded or rebuilt during the reign of Tiberius 
Caesar and stands as the metropolis of Galilee. From the 
beginning it distinguished itself from all other towns on 
the sea by adherence to Roman manners and architecture. 
For some reason, Tiberias alone was saved from the 
shameful curse of being exalted unto heaven and then 
"thrust down to hell." On a high plateau to the south- 
west of the present city stood the citadel of Tiberias and 
the palace of Herod, where the king spent much of his 
time. Near by there are several ancient tombs of renowned 
rabbis. We took pleasure in visiting the medicinal hot 
springs to the south of the town, which are a constant 
resort of tourists and natives, bedouins and Christian 
pilgrims. We find the well kept Medical Mission Hos- 
pital of the Free Church of Scotland, a splendid monu- 
ment to the spirit of the Master who healed the sick and 
ministered to the bodies 'as well as the souls of people in 
His day. 

While taking a lonely walk along the shore, I fell in 
with a government clerk whose name was Abraham, who 
proved a most hospitable and useful guide. He seemed 

io8 



like a clean and worthy young man, could speak English 
well and had been trained in the school at Jerusalem. He 
is paid twenty dollars per month as secretary of the 
governor of this province. The governor's salary amounts 
to about seventy dollars per month. He insisted upon 
taking me to his home and showing me the village, while 
he confessed that his Turkish government is a "very 
weak government." He had serious faults to find with his 
Moslem neighbors who drink "araka" and get drunk on 
it, despite the religious law against drunkenness. He 
said that Christians and Jews alike drink this stuff, 
greatly to their bodily and mental detriment. He stated 
that the climate here in the summer season is almost un- 
endurable, even for the natives. Nothing but their stone 
houses prevents them from sunstroke in the oppressive 
noonday hours. There are fourteen synagogues in this 
town of 10,000 people and the muezzin calls to prayer 
are often heard from our hotel window. 

Our New Testament passages are illuminated anew 
by our visit to Galilee. With refreshed bodies, souvenir 
shells and other reminders of our never-to-be-forgotten 
visit to this region, we push out in the government launch, 
the next morning, across the waters of the lake to the 
south and in about forty-five minutes have reached Sa- 
mach, where we will take the train for a day's ride to 
Damascus. The snowy Hermon forty-eight miles to the 
north appears, the sight of which continues almost all 
day. During our one hundred forty miles' ride we have 
a view of the Sunnim mountain and Lebanon range thirty 
miles further north and west, whose snow glows in the 
Syrian sunshine. 

While waiting at the station of Samach, located at 
109 



the south end of the Sea of Galilee, an Arab restaurant 
keeper charged us four metaliks, or five cents, for sitting 
on the sofa he had placed in the open shed of the station 
adjoining his restaurant. After remaining a few min- 
utes of the hour, we entered the train; but the zealous 
Arab followed us to collect his four metaliks, which I 
paid, only now he asked five. I drove him away after 
paying the four. He touched his head in wrath; but 
whether he meant something was out of fix with my pate 
or his own, I could not divine. 



no 




Wall where Paul was let down in basket at Damascus. 




Bread for Sale in Streets of Damascus. 



XII. 
DAMASCUS THE ANCIENT 

/^• g' " ^ HE journey by rail to Damascus is a pleasing one. 
Our party occupies four apartments. We brought 
individual lunches from the hotel, some of us hav- 
ing provided coffee or lemonade as refreshment for the 
day, for there is no dining car. A splendidly engineered 
serpentine road up the mountain and through tunnels, con- 
ducts us in sight of gushing hot springs and rippling 
streams as we climb to the plateau Hawaran. Flocks of 
goats and sheep with their shepherds in the deep gorges 
below us look like ants. Numerous stops are made ; three 
signals are given : first, the bell rung by the station agent ; 
second, the horn blown by the train man, and third, the 
quick engine whistle and the "all aboard" call often added 
to insure that all the passengers aie ready to start. If 
some run to fill bottles at a hydrant near the station, 
the train will be delayed to accomodate them. These 
Oriental trainmen are not so cruelly prompt as to 
leave anyone behind if he should not be "on time." This 
Arab country is dotted with black rocks and ruined vil- 
lages. Part of the soil seems fertile, but mostly it is a 
barren plain till we come near Damascus. 

Our first attraction is the river of Pharpar which 
is a feeble and almost absorbed stream, scarcely worthy 
the name of even a creek at this time of the year. Late 

III 



in the day Damascus comes into view, the ancient city 
of all the old cities. We enter it under very different 
circumstances from those attending Saul in his day. This 
city is still a destination much to be desired by weary 
travelers, and our minds revert to the Bible story as our 
eyes behold the multiplied domes and minarets of the 
mosques that distinguish this commercial center of the 
Orient. Our carriage driver from the station loses his 
way and keeps driving us about the city ; but remember- 
ing that we must reach the Palace Hotel, we venture to 
instruct our guide on the front seat and finally land with 
the rest of our party. We find a hearty welcome and, 
best of all, our first good water which provides a longed- 
for refreshment. It comes from porous jars and speaks 
of the snowy fountain of the near-by mountains from 
M'hich it springs. 

Dam.ascus is located in a luxurious, well wooded and 
fruitful plain. The city itself, with its 180,000 inhabi- 
tants, has many villages in its suburbs and vicinity. The 
plain round about containing one hundred twenty square 
miles is made both famous and productive by its rivers 
Abana and Pharpar, of which Naaman the Syrian so 
proudly boasted (II Kings 5:12). Orientals have called 
Damascus the "pearl set in emeralds." It is oval, shaped 
somewhat like a hand mirror. Its color is a pearly gray 
owing to the plaster and stone in the houses that look like 
concrete. The buildings appear as one .great plant 
jammed together in one^enclosure. The city is surrounded 
on all sides by myriads of trees which, in the early sum- 
mer, give an "emerald" setting to the "pearl." 

There is no older city of renown which has main- 
tained a continuous existence and business life dating 




Veiled Women in Street of Damascus. 




Crowded Street in Smyrna, Asia. 



from its foundation ill the earliest ages of human history. 
If Rome is the "Eternal City" then Damascus is the 
"Immortal City" ; for long before Rome was founded 
Damascus was as populous and beautiful as she is today. 
Four thousand years ago, when Abraham, who is said 
to have received a special revelation near the city, em- 
ployed his servant Eliezer of Damascus, he probably 
saw the same types of costume and faces, and observed 
the same fashions and habits of daily life as are wit- 
nessed by modern tourists. Pharpar is an inferior river 
scarcely worthy the name and is much of the time ab- 
sorbed by the sands of the plain. Abana is the main 
glory and life-giver of Damascus. It rises in a deep pool 
fed by the mountains and rushes full-fledged, twenty to 
thirty feet wide, in a long series of water-falls. By it, 
not only are the gardens irrigated, the plains and orchards 
made perpetually fruitful ; but nearly every street, bazaar, 
courtyard, hotel and dwelling is supplied with cold fresh 
running water. Having thus blessed the people, beauti- 
fied the city, sustained commerce, ripened fruits and en- 
riched gardens, the river broadens into shallow, marshy 
lakes and disappears in the sands some fourteen miles 
beyond the city. 

Sunday, May the 3rd, the Syrian sun shines clear 
and hot. The gray walls and pavements dazzle our eyes 
while we make a Sabbath day's journey through the 
crooked streets with our competent guide, that we may 
join in worship with the people of the Scotch mission and 
school. There are but few Christians among this great 
Moslem and Jewish population. It is a hard mission field, 
though the Bible story is closely interwoven at many 
points with scenes which we are soon to visit. Much of 

113 



natural beauty and many ancient landmarks are seen 
as we wander about the streets. Silver poplar trees tower 
above the walls and native houses. In mid-summer, 
fruit trees abound with apricots, walnuts, almonds, plums, 
figs and pomegranates. Vineyards are cultivated in the 
mountains near-by and the famous Damask roses and 
myrtle trees grow in great luxuriance. We are eight 
hours ahead of American time and feel a little lonely in 
our Sabbath separation from friendly Church associates 
across the seas. It is, therefore, a great joy to meet by 
chance with Dr. Carl G. Doney, President of West Vir- 
ginia Wesleyan College, and his family in the hotel, where 
in the afternoon we hear a Gospel discourse from a min- 
ister of our party on the conversion of Saul as he neared 
Damascus. An unusual interest attaches to the story in 
the Acts of the Apostles, as we read of the light above 
the shining of the noonday sun. With grateful hearts 
and stirring emotions we spend an evening hour upon the 
roof of our hotel hearing the Muezzin calls to prayer 
and watching the zealous Moslem men performing their 
ablutions and acts of evening devotion in their mosques 
nearby. 

Early the following morning, our carriages are 
in waiting and we drive to the house of Ananias near the 
street "Straight," which is still a straight street running 
through the heart of the city. This house is an under- 
ground chapel where tradition locates the home of this 
sainted man who laid his hands upon "brother Saul." 
Pictures of recent date on the walls portray Saul as 
kneeling with closed eyes before Ananias. Though the 
Moslem destroyer has raided and controlled this city for 
centuries, we are not left in doubt that we are near the 

114 



locality described in the record of Paul receiving his 
sight. The same conviction of certainty possesses us as 
a little further on we come to the house where Paul was 
let down in a basket to escape the persecution of the Jews 
who sought to slay him. It is near the park of poplar 
and myrtle trees; a stream from the Abana river flows 
by ; we perpetuate our interest with a kodak view of the 
window and wall where Paul escaped ; also of a plane tree 
called the "Tree of Mohammed" not far distant, which 
is so venerable as almost to justify the tradition that it 
is 1 200 years old and began to grow at Mohammed's birth. 
We must see the modern as well as the ancient Damascus, 
therefore we will visit the brass and wood work factory 
employing six hundred people. Here is a most pitiable ex- 
hibition of child labor, not to say slavery, where children 
from five years and upwards are made to sit and toil 
with chisel and hammer amid a racking noise like a boiler 
shop for many hours of the day, receiving for their labor 
less than half a franc or ten cents, with no prospect of 
schooling, no companionship but their crude uncultured 
shop-mates, and no shelter but the poorly ventilated 
rooms of the Oriental homes which, among the poorer 
people, are unworthy of even the name of house. Here 
in another part of the city is the "Naaman Lepers' Home." 
How grievous to behold these miserable creatures ! We 
shrink from them and turn aside with gratitude that there 
is some show of philanthropy on behalf of these wretched 
folk, who are the creatures of Oriental filth, ignorance 
and sin. 

The streets, shops and chapels, while associated with 
repulsive sights of overloaded donkeys, veiled women, 
burdened children and lazy men, are marked by evidences 

115 



of industry and prosperity. The work-shops turn out 
hand-made goods. Working implements are thousands 
of years behind the times, but the stores reveal great 
Oriental enterprise mixed with European life. It is a 
low order of commercial life and we shrink from the 
thought of living and doing business in some of these 
miserably dark, damp and unhealthy dens in the wall. 
It is a good place to purchase souvenirs and several of our 
party provide themselves with curtains, inlaid chairs and 
deft handiwork of wood, lace and linen. The people have 
a kindly spirit and respond to the strangers with a bland 
"good morning" as we pass. We here have our first ex- 
perience with Oriental ice-cream, which has the form 
without the flavor and, like many of their mixtures, is very 
uncertain in composition as well as in its method of manu- 
facture. 

We must not leave the city without a visit to the 
Mosque of Omeiyades. In the days of Naaman of 
Syria, it was the famous House of Rimmon (II Kings 
5:18). This temple was so magnificent in architecture 
and decorations, that Ahaz, king of Judah, who was 
familiar with all the glories of Solomon's Temple, was 
struck with wonder at the altar in this temple and had 
one made like it in the Temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem 
(II Kings 16:10). Early in the Christian era, this build- 
ing was completely destroyed and on its site a splendid 
Roman temple was dedicated to Jupiter ; but some remains 
of the earliest temple are seen. On the lintel of one of the 
gateways, we find the words, "Thy Kingdom, O Christ, 
is an everlasting Kingdom, and Thy dominion throughout 
all generations." This inscription may be seen by ascend- 
ing to the roof of the bazaars outside the mosque. Early 

116 



in the 5th century A. D., a Christian cathedral was erected 
over the ruins of this temple, which was famous for two 
centuries, at which date Moslems again seized the 
building and converted it into a mosque. This mosque 
with its costly tiles and priceless mosaic was completely 
wrecked by fire A. D. 1069 and again in 1400 A. D. A 
costly shrine of John the Baptist is here exhibited, beneath 
which his head is said to have been interred. A few 
indifferent worshipers are to be seen about this mosque, 
with its prayer rugs, Mecca niches and gorgeous windows. 
Careless of our irreverent gaze, they continue their silent 
prayers while we visit the tomb of Saladin. At the west- 
ern end of the court is a remarkable structure standing 
on columns. It is called the Dome of the Treasury. 
Inside it were found a few years ago, some extremely 
ancient manuscripts. Another domed structure called 
the "Dome of the hours" is found in the eastern end of 
the court. Among the minarets of this mosque, is one 
called the minaret of Jesus (Isa), because the Moslems 
teach that Jesus will come here first to judge the world, 
in this, its most ancient city. 

Strolling leisurely through the bazaars and along 
the streets, we study the stalls of the cotton merchants, 
shawl-makers, silversmiths, vegetable venders and dealers 
in a hundred other lines of merchandise. Have you ever 
heard such bustling activity and incessant din of shrill 
voices from the street hawkers ? Have you ever seen 
such gay colored costumes with endless variety of shades ? 
What a general light-heartedness and ceaseless mob per- 
vades the street life of Damascus ! It is a continuous 
kaleidoscope, a ceaseless panorama by day and by night. 
A restless activity marks Damascus as the climax city 

117 



of enterprise in all the Orient. Once every year this 
city is crowded with thousands of Moslem pilgrims for 
the great Haj, or sacred procession to Mecca, which leaves 
the city over the long street Meidan, through the "gate of 
God" as it is called. Many of these pilgrims to Mecca 
now go part way on the railroad which is completed as 
far as Medina. 

The famous street called "Straight" was once a 
broad thoroughfare. It is now a comparatively narrow 
foot-way and you see by the closed archways where the 
street once ran. A visit to the public library shows us 
a dismal affair, inferior to a cheap second-hand book 
store in an American city. The school for boys is an 
indifferent institution supported only by private tuition. 
The pupils are comparatively few though bright and 
cheerful. Their primitive desks look old-fashioned indeed. 
Their prospect of an education is sadly limited. Upon 
inquiry we learn that there are only ten schools here, five 
Mohammedan and five Christian. They are all of private 
character or under benevolent patronage. The stamp of 
ignorance and oppression so notable in the Turkish Em- 
pire is plainly seen upon the present inhabitants. The 
soil and climate of this valley are equal to the best in the 
world ; but the want of Christian life and western civili- 
zation stands in the way of all progress. 

We left Damascus, regretting only that our visit was 
so brief. 



ii8 




Landscape and Road nearing Sychar Well. 




Lebanon Mountains Viewed from near Grand Hotel, Baalbek. 




XIII. 

BAALBEK AND BEIRUT 

RAILROAD trip via Ryak to Baalbek takes us by 
the irrigated gardens, picturesque parks and locust 
groves above the crystal Abana and enhances our 
appreciation of Syria. 

Baalbek, a town of about five thousand inhabitants, 
proved to be a surprise and a most delightful place to 
visit. It is the site of the most magnificent temple ruins 
in existence. The Turkish government controls the 
premises, including about eleven acres enclosed by walls. 
Four thousand tourists annually visit this small town and 
gladly pay a dollar apiece for admission to this wreckage. 
The foundations and pillars here surpass in some respects 
the Acropolis in Athens. They show the Pagan zeal for 
the sun-god, Baal ; also the Roman devotion to Jupiter and 
Bacchus. 

The word Baalbek is of Phoenician origin, a probable 
contradiction of Baal-Beka. There are many Bible ex- 
amples of places beginning with the prefix Baal : for ex- 
ample, Baal-gad (Joshua ii :i7), Baal-hazor (II Sam. 
13:23), Baal-zephon (Ex. 14:2). All such cases show 
that a shrine or temple dedicated to Baal was built at 
the place named, for the use of Baal worshipers in this 
vicinity. Baalbek, therefore, was probably the central 
temple site for the town and villages along the valley in 

119 



which it is located. The original temple was doubtless 
dedicated to Baal and his associate deities in remote ages 
of the past. According to Arabic traditions, Adam and 
the patriarchs lived near here, and Cain, the son of Adam, 
built it in the year 133 of the creation and peopled it with 
giants. The ruins which we now visit belong chiefly to 
the Roman and Arabic epochs. The largest of the 
temples erected on these ruins was one to the honor of the 
Roman sun-god. A second temple associated with it was 
the Temple of Bacchus. A Christian basilica was erected 
exactly upon the altar of burnt sacrifices when the Jupiter 
temple was destroyed. During the Crusades and the Mo- 
hammedan wars, Baalbek was a fortified fort of great 
renown, but was ruined again and again and was de- 
stroyed by Timur the Tartar in the 14th century. Not 
only have these sublime monuments suffered by the at- 
tacks from powerful armies ; periodical earthquakes have 
wrought terrible violence among these structures of stone. 
Some of us made two or more extensive visits to these 
ruins, for the impression is so overwhelming that one 
feels drawn with reverence and awe to the presence of 
the massive stones and pillars which present themselves 
like giants of another age. 

Before entering the gate, a visit to the cyclopean 
wall will richly repay the tourist. Three gigantic blocks 
of stone remain in their place in the unbroken wall at the 
north west, corner of the ruins. These colossal stones rest 
upon four granite courses of rock which would be con- 
spicuous in themselves far their size, were it not for the 
fourth composed of six stones each about thirty feet long 
and thirteen feet high. This course is continued round 
the north side of the wall. On the top of the six stones. 




At Baalbek Pillars. 




Six Titan Pillars of Baalbek Ruins. 




Ruins of Temple at Baalbek, Syria. 




Sample Column of Baalbek Ruins. 



rest the three greatest building stones in the world. These 
are sixty four feet long, thirteen feet in height and ten 
feet wide. Startling as these stones are in size, they have 
been carved into shape and placed with such accuracy 
that, while no mortar or cement has been used to unite 
them above or beneath, they have been placed side by 
side so squared and leveled, that you can hardly detect 
wh ;re one stone ends and the next begins. Not even a 
knife blade or a piece of paper can be passed between any 
two of them. Each stone has been computed to weigh 
about one thousand tons. One modern explorer of good 
authority has calculated that it required 40,000 men to 
move these enormous stones from the quarry a mile away 
and lift them thirty-five feet above the ground. The mate 
for one of these great stones is found in the quarry at the 
opposite side of the present village, partly quarried and 
apparently nearly ready to be placed in the unfinished 
wall adjoining the three gigantic stones above mentioned. 
Ascending the great flight of steps on the east we 
reach the Propylaea, and enter the court through twelve 
great columns flanked on either side by noble wings. We 
next come to the fore-court which is hexagonal. The 
great court westward from the unroofed hexagonal fore- 
court, has the dimensions of an average city block, four 
hundred feet long, three hundred eighty-five feet wide. 
There are many unfinished carvings and decorations. 
Everything about this court is colossal. On an elevated 
platform in the center of the star, stands the remains of a 
Christian Church. Beneath it, under the floor, is built a 
stone altar designed for the sacrifices of burnt offerings 
to Baal. It is similar to rock-cut altars in other localities. 
To the north and south of the great altar, are basins 



with stone decorations representing sea-lions, horses, 
flowers, etc. Beyond and westward still from the altar is 
a great flight of steps leading to the Temple of the Sun. 
Six stupendous columns on the south side of this temple 
remain standing. These are nearly ninety feet high ; the 
shafts themselves measuring sixty-five feet. The Temple 
of the Sun seems never to have been finished and there 
were fifty- four pedestals for mammoth columns like the 
six that stand. 

South and opposite the great court and the Temple 
of the Sun, is the Temple of Bacchus, perhaps the finest 
ancient building in Syria and Palestine in anything like 
a good state of preservation. It has been greatly devas- 
tated by the destroyer and probably shattered by con- 
vulsions of nature ; but at the entrance doorway to the 
temple are most skillful carvings of vines and ivy, the 
symbols of Bacchus. It is the most magnificent door 
to be found in any ancient ruin. The roof of the temple 
has entirely disappeared.. Scenes from the life of Bac- 
chus are exposed in reliefs which are sadly defaced. The 
figure of the god leaning against a tree is discernable. A 
lofty statue, possibly of Bacchus, once stood against the 
west wall. Here is a secret chamber similar to those 
found in old Christian churches. A Saracenic guard- 
house dating back to the thirteenth century stands facing 
the Temple of Bacchus. The exit from the temple is by 
means of a vaulted tunnel, part of a system of vaults 
or caves under the temple. 

A fine view of the surrounding country is obtained 
from the remaining heights of the temple and guard- 
house. A short distance southeast of the village is a half - 
ruined circular building of the same elaborate order, 

122 



adorned as thes€ temples just referred to. It is known as 
the Shrine of Venus. Some of the crosses cut in the 
stone walls in the interior indicate that it was once used 
as a Christian church. I confess to emotions of gladness 
and gratitude while walking through the ruins of Baalbek. 
Signs of earthquake and vandalism point to defeated am- 
bitions of Pagan religionists. Did Jehovah not rebuke 
the wicked world and princes in the day of the building 
of the Tower of Babel? May not these mammoth ruins 
serve as His comment upon the tyranny of slavery and 
idolatry in these early days ? May not Providence be 
speaking a rebuke to Roman degeneracy as these great 
prostrate pillars lie shattered and broken upon the 
ground ? May not these unplaced stones and ruined carv- 
ings near the Temple of Bacchus be regarded as a divine 
denunciation of excessive wine drinking, busy pleasure 
seeking and false ambition? The quarries nearby are 
silent : the altar of sacrifice is mute : the carvings are 
faded by the storms of centuries, defaced by the hatred 
of rival armies ; the laughing gaiety of luxury is turned 
into the dirge of death. War and foes have set aside 
the pride of man. The moon and stars that God made, 
shine tonight with undimmed glory. The rippling brook 
of clear water sings its song as when these temples were 
reared. The snow-capped Lebanon looks down on these 
broken columns and seem to say, "Only God is great." 
What the Creator orders and what God does, alone sur- 
vive the pinch of centuries. 

The sunshine and scenery of a day's ride from Baal- 
bek to Beirut atone in part for our discomfort because 
of a promiscuous crowd of natives. Some of us manage 
to exclude the Turkish cigarette both for our own and 

123 



our ladies' sakes. The mountain crossing of the Lebanon 
was most magnificent. The distant valleys, the mulberry 
and silk industries, the flocks and olive groves, the bab- 
bling brooks and rushing water springing from mountain 
side, the snowy Lebanon glistening under the sun, the 
cooling breeze of the mountain heights and the distant per- 
spective of landscape and valley all go to make up a most 
memorable day of travel. The shores of the Mediter- 
ranean are noted for their romantic beauty at many points. 
Few places, however, are more delightful than Beirut with 
its handsome sweep of Saint George's Bay. The pictur- 
esque residences of the city, their walls painted in glowing 
colors with red tiled roofs, have a fine background in the 
terraced mountain sides. There are innumerable mul- 
berry and pine groves. The white clumps of buildings 
mark the sites of various villages dotted about the slopes 
and heights of the mountain ranges in the distance. The 
snow covered ridges of the lofty Sunnin crown the 
scene. It is a caes in which nature outdoes art. 

Beirut has a good harbor, deep water, solid masonry 
breakwater and jetties. All vessels may find safe an- 
chorage here. It is a city of 130,000 and has the most 
thriving export and import trade of any city of Syria. 
It is really the seaport of Damascus and is the head of 
the government of western Palestine. Grain, silk and 
wool are the principal exports. There are, large Turkish 
barracks for the government soldiers here. A British 
company controls the excellent water supply. The French 
own the city gas. Arabic and French are generally 
spoken, though the American College and the British Syr- 
ian schools, and constant inflow or tourists from Britian 
and America contribute to the spread of the English lan- 

124 



guage. Few, if any, ports unite mountain resorts with 
coast privilege so near at hand. The Beirut inhabitants in 
an hour's time may migrate to the mountain villages five 
thousand feet above the level of the sea. The contrast 
in climate is also very marked. 

There are not many ancient landmarks about Beirut 
and suburbs. One of the most notable is the Crusading 
Castle on the margin of the sea near the harbor. Frag- 
ments of an ancient monastery, prostrate columns, are to 
be found here and there. One of the most striking and 
fashionable parks in Beirut is the pine grove planted 
by a famous Druse prince for the purpose of protecting 
the plain of Beirut from drifting masses of red sand which 
are borne in upon the gardens and plantations. These 
pines are intersected by broad handsome roads and boule- 
vards. It is the people's popular resort. On Fridays and 
Sundays a well trained band m.ay be heard here and the 
gay populace fill the grove in gala attire. At the extreme 
west of Saint George's Bay is Beirut Head. Just off the 
beautiful cliffs which terminate the shore drive from the 
city, are seen the pigeons' grottoes. The water dashes 
into the inlets, and about the cliffs are multitudes of birds. 
The air is most transparent and the distances are ludi- 
crously deceiving. Attempt to throw a stone from the 
cliff and your guess at the greatness of the distance will 
thoroughly humiliate you. 

A fine carriage road drive seven and a half miles 
along the shore of the bay to Dog river,furnishes a happy 
opportunity for observing the employments of the people 
as well as the features of the country. Of course we 
must stop to see the silk worm industry. The gray rock 
walls and red tile roofs offer a striking contrast. By the 

125 



side of the mulberry orchards, are stone houses and sheds 
containing the shelves where the silk worms are daily fed 
with the leaves of the mulberry trees. Silk is the leading 
article of export from this region. All the year round 
the springs from the mountains supply the homes 
and irrigate the gardens and orchards. The city water- 
works are said, by their superintendent, to be the finest in 
the world, except those of Portland, Oregon. 

On our way we will stop for a visit to the Maronite 
Church, said to be the oldest organized Christian church 
in the world. It is near where the disciples were first 
called Christians. It is a simple structure after the Latin 
Catholic type, but the architecture is modern. The Maro- 
nites in this district are numerous and their priests have 
the liberty not granted other Roman Catholic priests : 
namely, the right of matrimony. 

We soon reach Dog River. The "Dog" or "Wolf" 
after which the river is named, is a stone, fallen from a 
cliff and largely covered in the sea. The cliffs of the 
rocky hillside are famous for their eight or more 
inscriptions of Assyrian and Egyptian origin. The 
carvings are found on the rocky ledges above the bay and 
near the river and date back, the Assyrian to 700 B. C, 
and the Egyptian to 1300 B. C. It is a marvel that the 
centuries have not worn them beyond recognition and 
that, unguarded, they have not been seriously defaced. 
The Roman bridge with its arches and near-by mountain- 
side niches form a monument of Pagan pride and the 
view of it makes a famous rustic scene. Everything that 
man has wrought shows signs of decay ; but here, as 
elsewhere, the mountain stream is fresh with new beauty 
and the flowers by the highway bloom in the glorious 

126 



sunlight as if to mock the ravages of time. Even the 
rocks are worn into fantastic shapes along the seaside 
and cliffs. The old fashioned saw-mill continues to serve 
its owner. Peasant women sitting upon the ground ply 
their art of cleansing in their own Oriental way. The 
shops by the roadside lazily appealing for patrons, the 
sheep driven along the highway, ready for shearing or 
slaughter, present an Oriental picture not likely soon to 
be effaced. 

A part of the day must be used to visit the German 
cemetery near the center of the city. To our party, the 
chief attraction here is the grave of Bishop Calvin Kings- 
ley, who died April 6, 1870, on the first Episcopal tour of 
the world. It is a sacred spot for all Protestant tourists. 
In this city that so blends western civilization and east- 
ern custom, we walk about the humble monument upon 
the pavement of decorated pebbles and mark the graves 
of other heroes who lie beside him. But the inscription 
from his tomb rivets our attention and starts the pro- 
foundest veneration for our missionaries who have sacri- 
ficed all to make the wildern^^s blossom as the rose. 
These are the words we copy from his granite shaft : 
"May his tomb unite more closely, Asia and America. 
Erected as a tribute of appreciation and esteem by order 
of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church." 

The Protestant Girls' School not far away, with its 
modern facilities, thorough instruction and charming 
faces, is most interesting. Not less so is the room where, 
during sixteen years, a father and later his son, translated 
into Arabic the text of the Holy Scriptures. 

Our day would be incomplete if we did not visit the 
127 



Syrian Protestant College on the hill where we find the 
largest and best sample of Christian education in the 
East. Dr. Howard Bliss is president of the college. At 
four o'clock we join the great body of a thousand students 
who are entering their chapel for- daily worship. Mature 
young men in varied garbs and representing three con- 
tinents are marching in with serious step, to hear the 
reading of the Scriptures and to join in the songs and 
prayers which mark this hour of every day. They repre- 
sent a great variety of religious faith. The Mohammedan, 
Jewish, Druse, Maronite, Greek and Roman Catholic, 
Armenian, Syrian, and Protestant British and European 
boys fill the great chapel. They listen attentively to the 
Word of God as read b}^ their President and then join 
with enthusiasm in the hymn : 

"Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer. 
That calls me from a world of care, 
xA-nd bids me at my Father's throne. 
Make all my wants and wishes known." 

The school is supported largely by American be- 
nevolence. It is a cross between a kindergarten and a 
university. While all faiths are respected, the pure Gos- 
pel of Jesus Christ and the chaste morality of the Christ- 
ian Bible are constantly magnified and mingled with the 
best scientific instruction. The results are wonderful. 
Nothing we have seen so thrilled us. Smoking, drinking 
and gambling are forbidden among the students. This 
institution, which is patronized by governors, princes and 
every type of citizenship in the East, will certainly stand 
for many years as the hope of the Turkish Empire and 

128 



of Syria. The Arabs and Moslems are being deeply im- 
pressed with the triumjihs of missionary zeal through our 
Christian schools. A better day is dawning because a 
higher life has come to the people through the missionary 
teacher. Whatever may be the outcome of the present 
world-wide war, the Christian college will be recognized 
as the means of promoting progress and fulfilling 
prophecy. 

On concluding our pilgrimage in Syria, I wrote in my 
journal these words : "This day at Beirut has surely 
be-en one of the best of all our trip, and fullest of inspira- 
tion and rest." 



12() 



XIV. 
CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE TURK 

"Equador" of the French Hue is our steamship for 
Constantinople. The Governor-General of Beirut, ac- 
companied by Turkish soldiers and martial music, is tak- 
ing the same vessel for the same port. Forty or fifty 
boatmen crown about us to get baggage and passengers. 
At last we have pushed through them all and are landed 
upon our comfortable ship for a four-day journey. 

Viewing the city of Beirut as we leave the bay, I am 
deeply impressed with the fact that a city port under 
commercial and Christian influence from the west, ceases 
to be the Arabic and Oriental city which its location leads 
us to expect. It is outwardly modernized as are the 
customs of the people. Through our glass we study Pat- 
mos in the distance, with its convent on the mountain 
peak. We recall the vision of John while we re-read the 
letters to seven churches and try to think after him the 
thoughts which thrilled him as he passed over these very 
waters under the wrath of Nero, but basking in the smile 
of the Divine Master. 

At twelve o'clock, most of our party are ready to 
take a boat for the town of Vathy, now a Greek city, 
the largest on the Isle of Samos, containing 25,000 in- 
habitants. Several hundred Greek soldiers are about the 
streets. These men give six months to the service of 

130 



Greece for five leptas (one penny) a day with clothes and 
board. The town, since rescued from the Turks two 
years ago, has driven the Moslems out. The new Greek 
has come in and he is taking pride in building up a city 
clean and progressive. The harbor is a beautiful natural 
bay, very transparent to a great depth. Along the walled 
wharf we find many star sea-urchins, queer little animals 
of the lowest order. They are like small star-fish, about 
two and a half inches across with porcupine quills which 
move about and serve as fins. When skin and spines are 
retnoved, they are said to be edible. 

Smyrna is a great commercial center and also a Bible 
city. We drive through the streets past the Turkish 
palace, ascend a hill by a zigzag road, walking part of the 
way, until we reach at last the tomb of Polycarp, Bishop 
of Smyrna. The tomb is painted green and is one of the 
most famous shrines for the resort of Christian pilgrims, 
although it is under the control of the Mohammedans. 
From this tomb of Father Polycarp, we ascend to Mount 
Pagus where we have a rare view of the fortifications of 
the Romans and a bird's-eye view outlook on the whole 
city and bay. From this lofty view point, we turn our 
eyes toward Ephesus, another of the cities marking the 
location of one of the seven churches of Asia. We recall 
Revelation 2 :8-ii, "Ye shall have tribulation ten days : be 
thou faithful until death, and I will give thee a crown of 
life." Smyrna is the only city of the seven church cities 
of Asia Minor that still lives. In every other case the 
candlestick has been removed out of its place. Prophecy 
has been fulfilled and Ephesus with its ruins, and the other 
cities wholly ignored and obliterated, serve as further 
fulfillment of the prophecy of the Holy Scriptures. 

131 



Remounting our carriages, we descend the hill past 
the Roman aqueduct which crosses the valley. Women 
are pounding their family washing in the flowing stream. 
Various shops, shaded nooks and Roman ruins^ are passed 
before we reach the Caravan Bridge. This is a metro- 
politan city. Our procession takes us through the Jewish, 
the Turkish, the Armenian and the French quarters where 
bazaars are open and trading caravans confront us and 
all sorts of prosperous shopping and commercial enter- 
prise show how 200,000 people do business today. After 
ten hours' visit in Smyrna, we are on shipboard for the 
Dardanelles. 

To see the vessel piloted through the "Narrows" we 
must rise early. A sunrise over the Asiatic hills in these 
straits with Europe to the left and west and Asia on the 
east, furnishes a memorable picture. Nature and man, 
science and invention, commerce and religion form a 
constant kaleidoscope by which we are entertained to the 
point of reverence, wonder, gratitude and hope. The 
afternoon brings us in sight of Constantinople. From 
the deck we study in advance the mosques against the 
horizon, We turn our glasses on the Golden Horn. Al- 
most as interesting as the minarets of the mosques, is the 
sight of Dog Island which we pass on entering the city. 
Here we are told, 170,000 dogs were banished, first to be 
fed and later to die and to be cast into the sea. There is 
now scarcely a dog to be seen in the street's of Constan- 
tinople where, a few years ago, they were almost as thick 
as the fleas in Cairo. 

Riding into the harbor, we turn our glass upon 
Scutari, the Asiatic side of Constantinople. Galata and 
Pera appear on the right of the Golden Horn, which is 

132 



an arm into the sea into which our vessel slowly glides. 
Onr ship is welcomed by an army of red caps, the "fez 
brigade" of porters, boatmen, committees and venders, 
who crowd about our ship. We are first huddled in the 
custom house to await the presentation of our passports, 
which formality is soon over. Thus far our soldiers, 
clerks and foreign officers have caused us little if any 
delay at these customs stations. 

Constantinople is now the civic head and ecclesiasti- 
cal heart of the Turkish Empire. It is the "City of Con- 
stantine," named after him because, on the conquest of 
his enemies in Italy, he chose to make this "city on her 
seven hills" the new Rome and capital of the Roman Em- 
pire. Three hundred years after the death of Christ, 
this now wonderful city of one and a quarter million 
inhabitants became the metropolis of the Christian 
Church. The Greek Catholic Church first had equal 
sway with the Latin Church. Saint Sophia, now the most 
gorgeous mosque of the world, was once a Christian 
church and was built to represent "divine wisdom." It 
is the glory of old Stamboul, as Saint Peter's is the coro- 
net of Papal Rome. Justinian enlarged it thirteen hun- 
dred years ago and was so elated by its finished splendor 
that he exclaimed, "O Solomon, I have surpassed thee !" 
It was completed about 500 A. D. at the cost of $60,000,- 
000. On the west door, is the inscription, "I am the 
door," in memory of Christ's words. The erection of this 
building marks the division of the Greek and Latin bod- 
ies. A part of the ground on which this gorgeous mosque 
now stands was bought from a woman named Ann, only 
on condition that she might be buried beneath the struc- 
ture. Her request was granted. 

133 



In 1357 A. D., Mahomet II captured all Constanti- 
nople and changed this Christian monument to a mosque, 
since which it has been used as a place of Mohammedan 
display. The cross and other emblems of Christianity- 
have largely been effaced, though some of them still re- 
main to be seen upon the walls. Constantinople is the 
only city in the world that occupies parts of two conti- 
nents. The Strait of Bosporus, a great and natural water- 
way, divides Asia and Europe and connects the Black 
and Marmora Seas. This wonderful city is built on both 
sides of the Bosporus ; the European city being divided 
by the Golden Horn into Stamboul on the south and 
Galata and Pera on the north. Stamboul is the purely 
Turkish city with its Moslem mosques and Turkish 
homes and shops. The other is the European section of 
business and residences more modern. The Golden Horn 
is bridged in a modern way and a most modern street- 
car system connects these two portions of Constantinople. 
Scutari, the Asiatic portion across the Bosporous, com- 
bines the character of both the other divisions of the city. 
This is wheie the recently exiled Sultan lives in a palace 
by the water's edge, though no strangers ever see him 
since the young Turkish party dethroned him in the revo- 
lution a few years ago. After the Sultan's residence was 
destroyed by fire nearly half a century since, the Turkish 
sovereigns have removed their palaces to the shores of 
the Bosporus on the Galata side. Modern improvements 
have broken down the old city wall at Seraglio Point 
where the Sultan's palace used to stand, and the old fort 
has become an attractive park, livaling in beauty those 
of European cities. The new government has become 
quite modern and has rid the city, not only of the street 

134 




Soldiers near Sultan's Palace. 
The Sultan going to Weekly Prayers at Mosque. 




Scene on Bosporus, Constantinople. 



dogs, but of many other offensive features of Oriental 
city life. 

On the Stamboul side, the mosques are numerous 
and their minarets pierce the sky and adorn the city from 
every point of view. Running through Stamboul is seen 
the remains of great aqueduct of Valens, twenty feet 
broad and in some places fifty feet high, with varied and 
winged old arches and towers. On every hand through- 
out the Turkish quarter are the old latticed or barred 
windows. These have been built manifestly to protect 
their women from being seen. The veils worn by the 
Moslem women on the street serve the same purpose. 
Woman is discounted in all the empire of Moslem and 
women are not much in evidence on the streets or in the 
shops. Paint on the houses is regarded as a sign of pros- 
perity and is heavily taxed by the government ; so many 
of these city houses are without paint and show a most 
dilapidated condition outside. The reason is to be found 
in the fact that is is cheaper, in the present administration, 
to permit the houses to go unpainted and weather-beaten. 
In many parts of the city, there is revealed much modern 
enterprise. Donkeys for burden bearing, are being dis- 
placed by the ox-carts, of which there are many in the 
streets. Under present conditions, the horse and automo- 
bile are getting ahead and the street-car system is a most 
up-to-date affair. Even the pigeon that used to abound 
has been frowned on by the modern Turk. Better still, 
ancient walls are being torn down and neglected grounds 
transformed into beautiful parks. 

But in all this marked improvement of recent years, 
there are no schools worth the name. There are no play- 
grounds for the children or the public. The Turk does 

135 



not care for amusement and games. Active sports are not 
a part of his program. His greatest pleasure is "keyeff" 
which has been translated "sweet idleness." The men sit 
round the tables, smoke their long pipes, drink water and 
wine, play dice, etc., as they while away the hours in 
quiet story-telling or dreaming meditation. Their univer- 
sal belief in fate or "kismet" makes them submit to mis- 
fortune as the inevitable will of Allah. They are not dis- 
tressed over any loss and are not given to suicide or de- 
spair. To the casual tourist, the Turk does not seem 
to be a fierce and warlike fellow, as many suppose. A 
polite and hospitable gentleman, he certainly never seems 
to be in a hurry nor greatly given to enterprise ; although 
in the latter respect, there is a marked advance over the 
old regime since Mahmud V., the present Sultan and 
brother of the former one, took control of the palace. 
While the present Turkish government really retains 
Adrianople and other cities lost by battle, it is the opinion 
of many that the results of dealing out the territory to the 
various kingdoms, following the recent Balkan war, is 
proof of the stronger political force of Germany and 
other European powers, rather than a show of justice to 
either Greece or Bulgaria. 

It was our fortune to reach Constantinople at the 
opening of Parliament and to be in the city on Friday to 
see the sultan making his weekly parade to the mosque 
for prayers. It is a great sight when, with martial music, 
if such their band noise may be called, the gaudily arrayed 
soldiers in varied uniforms of white, blue and gray, the 
cavalry with flags, the guards on foot and horseback, ac- 
company the aged ruler of the Moslem Empire in his 

136 



carriage drawn by black Arabian steeds from the palace 
gate to the mosque. 

These Turkish soldiers receive about penny a -day 
and their living, while their sultan ruler receives his 
millions ,to maintain a royal palace, the dignity of his 
sultanship and to protect his life, which he seems to be in 
constant dread of losing. Of course the visitor is shown 
the tomb of Mahometll., who took the city at the battle of 
Plevna in 1453 A. D. Here also we find the model of 
Mecca's greatest mosque with seven minarets and the 
central "Stone of Mohammed," probably a black aerolite 
found somewhere. The great mosque of Achmet, gor- 
geous with six minarets instead of two or four, is the 
place where the sultan and members of court appear on 
state occasions. The sultan's gallery is ceiled with rose- 
wood. Near-by is the Stamboul cemetery noted for the 
distinct and separate style of tombstones for men and 
women. 

Hippodrome square with its column of stone, built 
perhaps as the pride of some early ruler, contains the 
"Serpentine Column" with its bronze monument, peculiar 
and famous beyond anything in the open parks of the 
whole city. In this same square is the conspicuous obe- 
lisk from Heliopolis, Egypt, with its Egyptian emblems 
and granite foundation eight feet under the street level, 
but all enclosed by an iron fence. 

The Mosque of Saint Sophia before referred to, with 
its inscriptions, its borrowed columns, its imported dec- 
orations, its partially effaced Christian emblems, its in- 
laid gold work, its exquisite and unequalled dome, one 
hundred twenty feet broad and yet so flat as to be a 
wonder of archhitecture, is a day's study in itself ; for it 

137 



is a combination of cathedral, mosque, and art museum. 
No wonder that opposite this church, Justinian erected 
the statue of King Solomon, bearing a grieved expres- 
sion occasioned by the superiority of this temple when 
compared with his own in Jerusalem. It is a rare privi- 
lege to stand in front of the great west door, to study the 
fish tablets which remain as emblems and the great altar 
which marks the separation of the western and eastern 
Catholic Churches. The structure is the triumph of Con- 
stantine and Justinian and also the selfish monument of 
Mahomet II., the Moslem conqueror. The Christian 
must be pardoned for feeling sad over the fact that the 
Crescent should conquer and, for five hundred years, hold 
sway over the Cross. But would it have been so if 
Christianity had remained pure? We pass the question 
to our reader. Or was it that the place of temple and 
conquest might not be unduly glorified? Solomon's 
temple at Jerusalem and Justinian's church in Constan- 
tine's city have both been leveled, marred, abused or de- 
graded to turn the eye of worship to the invisible Christ, 
who is glorious above the sun, more dazzling than the 
gold of Ophir, and more precious to the one who believes 
than the jewels of kings. 

The church of Saint Irene, called the "Peace Church" 
is now transformed into a museum of war. Think of it ! 
Here there are the mementoes of Turkish warfare in every 
age. All kinds of war weapons are here exhibited, from 
the rudest to the most modern gun, from the battle-ax 
and coat-of-mail to the great chain hung across the Gold- 
en Horn in 1453, when Mahomet II. lifted his ships over 
the hill and let them down on skids inside. Sample flags 
and souvenirs of conquering Mohammedans are dis- 

138 



played. Every type of soldier's clothing of cavalry and 
infantry is illustrated. All forms of Moslem priests 
with their garbs and ceremonies are represented. A 
museum of Turkish and Christian cruelty may here be 
seen in the "Christian Church of Peace." Forsooth, shall 
it be? One day, the King of Peace will smite it all and 
obliterate this too with a touch of His hand ; for even the 
cross within is not wholly obscured by the great flag and 
Turkish emblems of war. Maybe it will be a Church of 
Peace by and by and "Peace Day" may yet triumph above 
the din of battles. 

-The museum in Stamboul contains the most beauti- 
ful sarcophagus in the world. All agree that this is the 
"Sarcophagus of Alexander" taken from Sidon some 
twenty-eight years ago, with many others including that 
of the "Weeping Women." The "Alexander" is noted 
for the delicate carving in marble, all wrought from the 
solid block. There are carved about thi§ marvelous monu- 
ment to the dead, scenes of war and strenuous figures of 
horsemen and soldiers in action; perhaps an attempt to 
reproduce Alexander's battles. Lions are boldly carved 
on the four corners of this sarcophagus and a dainty lion 
head is seen in the hair of the hero. This mammoth piece 
of rare workmanship was made as early as 300 B. C. in 
the days of Pericles. Twenty-six of these marble 
caskets were found in the same place and at the same 
time. 

You will pause to study the empty tomb of Tabnit, 
King of Sidon, as a sample of stone carving. The in- 
scription on it reads, "Disturb me not: I have neither 
money nor jewels." But in the sarcophagus were dis- 
covered both. They were taken and his mummy skeleton 

139 



lies under glass near-by. 

In the Assyrian room we find a great tablet fifteen 
feet high with multitudes of stone sculptures, mostly from 
the third century A. D. There are many royal caskets 
containing solid figures larger than those on the marble 
casket of Alexander. Jewelry buried with them was 
taken out of holes in the stone. 

We see in this same museum, the famed "Stone of 
Cursing" taken from the Court of Gentiles in Herod's 
temple at Jerusalem. On it is the suggestive inscription : 
"Who goes beyond this barrier will be responsible for his 
death, which will surely follow," reminding us of the 
Bible warning, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Vases 
and cups of all sultans from 1453 to 1876 are arranged 
in striking contrast. Gaze upon seals on cylinders in use 
by kings from 2500 B. C. to 300 A. D. Think of it! 
Letters baked in clay, belonging to the most ancient days 
of recorded history, are to be studied in this collection. 

But Stamboul must be resigned for a visit to Scutari 
on the Asiatic side of the Bosporous. We will spend an 
hour with the howling dervishes. This is one of a re- 
spectable sect of the Moslem faith. There are also the 
dancing devishes, whose ceremonies are similar and 
equally shocking. No cloak of charity or admission of 
their sincerity can avert the pity and disgust with which I 
refer to an hour in this place of religious nonsense and 
pagan worship. The room is twenty-five feet square. 
There are, perhaps, a score of men engaged in the "cere- 
mony" for it is not a "service" ; unless they serve them- 
selves for the revenue made out of the fees which are 
scrupulously charged for admission to this show of stupid 
religious fervor. To us, it is "will worship" and idolatry 

140 



of the blindest sort and worthy the rebuke which our 
Holy Scripture gives to "vain repetitions." Their hid- 
eous music, their waving bodies and gestures, their mon- 
otonous groans and grunts, their ceremonial treading 
upon children, their sacrilegious if not cruel perform- 
ances in the name of religious worship, are a reproach 
to holy things and a shame upon modern civilization. 
Leaving this shocking ceremony of the Dervishes, I felt 
like writing, "farewell, idolatrous and degenerate Asiao 
the Lord have mercy and hasten deliverance !" 

On the hill is the great Moslem cemetery with its 
thousands upon thousands of neglected and dilapidated 
tombstones and great grove of cypress trees. This is the 
largest graveyard of the world and marks Scutari as a 
Moslem center indeed. 

The streets of the city are clean, in marked contrast 
with the cities of Syria; but the ideals of the people are 
by no means being exalted to the level of western or 
European civilization, to say nothing about those of Bible 
Christianity. The people are a heterogeneous group of 
all nationalities. Business enterprise is slowly amalgating 
the people. We picked up an advertising dodger on the 
street, printed for business reasons in five different lan- 
guages. If the enthusiasm of English or Yankee sales- 
men may be joined with the uplifting hand of the Chris- 
tian missionary or even with the revolutions of war, to 
supplant the degrading customs and their selfish religion, 
a better day will dawn for the Mohammedan Orient. I 
leave this Moslem country with the burning wish that the 
few good things about the Mohammedan faith may be 
speedily absorbed into the excellencies of western learn- 
ing and the Christian religion. 

141 



A dreadful fatalism pervades all Moslem thought. 
Moral responsibility and freedom of action are excluded ; 
hence, their religion permits no conception of sin or place 
for atonement. Every thing is as God willed it. The 
religion as JMohammed is sensual and never spiritual. 
Its worship is mere form. The character of the Moslem, 
like that of the Allah he worships, is despotic, cruel, 
treacherous and dishonest. Moral decay is common to 
all JNIoslem lands. Dr. E. F. Freese, for years resident 
missionary in Algiers and well posted on conditions, says : 
"The moral rottenness of Islam cannot be exaggerated. 
Teaching that a lie is no wrong in war, in trade, or to a 
woman, the average IMoslem easily becomes an expert 
liar." Its ideas of heaven and hell are directly the oppo- 
site of the teachings of the New Testament. 

The Turkish government is as weak as the Moslem 
religion is imperfect. On excursion boats and in public 
places, boxes are patriotically passed for collections to re- 
plenish and support the Turkish navy. The popular and 
governmental disregard of women is not merely un- 
christian, it is barbarous. The want of public schools is 
a shame to civilization. Its religion with nine command- 
ments, is only a travesty on that of IMoses and Christ. 
Its superstitions and records are as ragged crape on the 
sepulcher of love. 



142 



1' 






■P^^ ^f: 


\. 


^umamm 


1^ 1 . 














fe^'^:; \ 


Mb-^ 






^Sp^ / 


|Kj' ■ "" • 




■H 


/ 


ijp5*'.> 


-^kiJi 


1^:^ 




g^n^^^ -*-%^ 


aafcamj 




/ 




■~"'<SIW^ ' ' 


Ine 


!??%'* - : J 




^^ 


^~ 


^^_ ^ * i 


■■■'•■■ 


^ 


P 





Ancient Roman Bridge over Dog River, Beirut, Syria. 




Gipsy Row in Sofia, Bulgaria. 



XV. 
THROUGH THE BALKANS 

A THOUSAND mile journey through the Balkans 
is not a common trip even among tourists. The 
interest in the Balkan kingdoms has grown in- 
tense in the last few years. A correct map of European 
Turkey, Roumania, Greece, Servia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, 
Montenegro, Albania and Austria Hungary must be quite 
recent if at all reliable. Since the final allotment of the 
"powers" the border lines have been erased. Turkey is 
much smaller than she used to be. She will yet be driven 
wholly from Europe. 

Our little party are well located in compartments of 
the train running from Constantinople to Budapest, 
Vienna and Fiume. The railroads in Europe are owned 
by the several governments through which they pass. Close 
inspection of the passports of travelers causes some delay. 
Armed soldiers do duty at the railroad stations and es- 
pecially at border points between the little kingdoms ; for 
these nations are rivals of one another and are slow to 
accept each other's issue of money. They have very 
different dialects as well as distinct religious customs and 
personal costumes. In the temporary absence of our 
conductor at the station, armed officers approached our 
party and, in a foreign tongue, insisted on our revealing 

143 



why we were standing around, what we were doing in 
their country and where we were going. 

Having passed Adrianople, we soon leave the Turk 
behind us and meet evidences of Bulgarian thrift in the 
home and in the field. Their land is varied by beautiful 
contrasts of plain, stream, trees and snow-crowned moun- 
tains ; there are herds of the finest cattle and sheep. Their 
methods of farming are much belated, but are far supe- 
rior to those of the antiquated Turkish Empire. Mosques 
disappear. Many facts betoken a national patriotism and 
Christian conscience. The Lord's Day is very generally 
observed in country and village by the cessation of all 
work in garden, street and field. There are no fences, 
either of stone, wood or hedge, in the agricultural regions. 
No farm houses appear. Each flock has its herdsman, 
who is ver}^ likely an old man. At the time of our pas- 
sing. May 15th, the spring is backward and crops are not 
well started. Ownership is marked by the non-plowing 
of the narrow strips between land holders. The people 
of Bulgaria and Servia do not reside on their land, but 
keep to the villages, which seem quite far apart. The 
corrals for flocks appear in sight between villages. The 
roads are finely macadamized, though not numerous and 
only in main directions from city to city or between 
villages and the natural highways. By the side of the 
streams appear old-fashioned water-wheels, many of 
which have long been in disuse. Our train passes a Sun- 
day parade of gaily dressed Bulgarian women with great 
heavy hoes upon their shoulders. These implements are 
the emblems of field and garden toil ; their bearers seem 
to say, "We can conquer these fields ourselves, while our 
men go to war in defense of our homes." The type of 

144 




At Railway Station in Bulgaria, near Sofia. 




Marching Soldiers near the Kalemegdan Park, Belgrade. 




Looking at the Danube from the Fort in Belgrade, bombarded. 
at opening of the War between Austria and Servia. 



character varies as we pass from one section to another. 
This is indicated by the garb of the people and the extent 
and nature of the cultivation of the fields. The women 
of these countries, especially on the bounds of Servia, are 
field workers and outnumber the men at the hoe handle 
and plow two to one. Farm machinery is not plentiful. 
Oxen are far more numerous than horses except in the 
city, where the latter are used for transportation. 

We spent some days in Sofia, the capital. The czar 
is a Roman Catholic ; the prince, Boris, is an orthodox of 
the Greek Christian Church ; and the czarina, or queen, is 
a Protestant. The government is therefore broad in 
granting religious liberty to all. This city is noted for its 
clean and perfectly paved streets. Its parks are ideal and 
its hotels the very best we have found. Enterprise and 
progress are seen in its modern school buildings. In no 
other city have we seen such a gorgeous Christian temple 
as is now being completed. This church cost a million 
and a quarter dollars in American money and is built as 
the pride of the nation. The entire interior, including 
walls, ceiling, naves, transepts and windows and doors 
are adorned with paintings of Scripture and church his- 
tory by the very finest artists of Bulgaria and Russia. 
Nothing is to be found more striking in style, even in 
Venice, Florence or Rome. 

Parliament is just in session and through an influen- 
tial friend, and English land-holder, we are permitted to 
spend some time in the capitol hearing an address by a 
former president, Dr. DanifT of the London Peace Com- 
mission. His subject is "Who is responsible for the re- 
cent Balkan wars and what is the outcome?" It is a 
great speech, though we could only interpret its meaning 

145 



and effect by the faces of the audience. A thousand 
people, most of them men, crown the galleries and en- 
thusiasm is intense ; for it will not be forgotten that 
Bulgarians are quite bitter over their treatment in the 
diplomatic adjustment of the boundaries. They won out 
on the battlefield against the Turks but had to cede back 
much of the territory gained by the price of their blood. 
Now they are compelled to admit to seats in their Parlia- 
ment, at least a dozen red-capped Turkish representatives 
of a people whom they despise, both religiously and 
racially. If the little kingdoms in the Balkan region could 
unite, they v/ould be better off and the world would feel 
the force of their influence. But in view of the racial 
divisions of the people, such a consumation seems very 
remote. At present the charity of the Protestant people 
in Bulgaria and also that of the government is burdened 
with thousands of refugees driven from their homes by 
war and prevented from returning to Grecian domain 
unless they yield their national spirit and loyalty, which 
they refuse to do. We find them herded in buildings like 
sheep, six families, twenty-eight persons in all, living in 
one room twenty-five by thirty feet, sleeping on mats on 
the floor and subsisting, nobody knows how. But these 
are incidental fruits of the Balkan war. War is a hor- 
rible octopus, every arm of which is far reaching and 
distributes poison and death, pain and suffering. 

At Sofia our little' party, so kindly welcomed by the 
city, is broken up by illness and death ; for it is here that 
our conductor's wife was taken ill. The discovery of 
malignant small-pox in a great hotel after a tourist party 
has been feted and welcomed for several days, is likely 

146 



to produce consternation among the employees. The 
result is such a quarantine of members of the party as to 
make an event of startling interest to us and to the whole 
city. It becomes an occasion to test character and try 
faith. But God guides and overrules in the emergencies 
of travel as in all other issues of life. In this case we 
found the Christian missionaries residing in Sofia more 
than equal to the demands. No better class of people 
are to be found in the Orient than the heroic men and 
women who wait to bear the burdens and suffer the 
deep deprivations caused by sickness and disaster. The 
venerable Dr. Clark of the Congregational Church, the 
Rev. Dr. Elmer E. Count of the Methodist Episcopal 
Mission and the Rev. Mr. Holiday of the American 
Board with their families and associates are choice ex- 
amples of the true missionary under all circumstances 
which test men's faith and try their souls. The prog- 
ress of the schools and the promotion of revivals, the 
support of philanthropies and the care for the suffering 
all prove the invaluable worth of a pure Gospel life and 
enterprise where it is most needed. The pure social 
atmosphere of these missionary oases inspires the tourist 
and makes him wish to pause in his travels. It was 
gratefully appreciated that in the sickness of Mrs. Allen, 
resulting in a lonely quarantine death, the queen herself 
should join our missionaries in rendering every possible 
kindness and help and thus prove the value of the true 
Christian spirit which, in bearing another's burdens in 
Christ's name, makes all the world akin. The death of 
one whom we had been pleased to call the "queen" of the 
party is a stunning affliction to our conductor and a 
grief to us all ; but, strengthened by faith in the divine 

147 



Father and aided by good fortune, we are permitted to 
pursue our journey and later are reunited, 

Belgrade, the capital of Servia, has a king and palace 
but a poorer peasant class of subjects. But the national 
pride is seen in the record of their heroes and in the 
preservation of their forts. The great Danube river 
flows by and the palace of their king is indeed a credit 
to the prosperous little city where he lives. It was here 
in 1907 that King Alexander and Queen Draga were 
slain in a way that reminds us of Huerta's regime and 
the assassination of President Madero in Mexico. 

Belgrade is the city on the Danube where the Euro- 
pean world-wide war began. Our days of sojourn here 
gave us a most favorable insight into the soldier life and 
civic pride of the Servians. The monument of Black 
George the Conqueror, in Kalemegdan Park is cherished 
and preserved in highest honor by the whole populace. 
While there were no signs of outbreak when we passed 
through, some of us felt that there were indications of 
a volcano. Martial music and the moving of soldiers, the 
stressing of patriotic sentiments and the suspicion with 
which foreigners were regarded, pointed to a slumbering 
fear of the nations roundabout. When members of our 
party crossed the Save and Danube to Semlin in Hun- 
gary they were denied landing because without passports ; 
and returning, this excursion party were refused for a 
time, re-landing at Belgrade. When we arrived in the city 
a soldier halted us until full explanations were given and 
we were then allowed after most careful inspectoin, to 
pass the porters. The old brick fort near the park, which 
enabled this people to defeat Mahomet II., the conqueror 
of Constantinople, did not present a formidable appear- 



ance and it is no wonder that Austrian guns have reduced 
it and compelled the surrender of the city. 

Our train has barely crossed the bridge into the 
Hungarian kingdom, when all baggage must be carried 
into the customs house and our passports carefuly ex- 
amined before we proceed. One passenger must be left 
behind because his passport has expired. During the 
day's ride across Austria Hungary, we are deeply inter- 
ested in its great plains and unprecedented herds of fine 
cattle, hogs, horses, geese and ducks. Signs of unusual 
prosperity now appear. The people seem more thrifty 
than any in eastern Europe. The homes, both of village 
and country, are larger and more inviting than those 
of Servia or Bulgaria. It is not surprising thatAustria 
Hungary supports comfortably 20,000,000 people. 
Churches neatly painted and well located are seen in all 
villages. The white mortared houses and the tiled and 
thatched roofed dwellings seem clean and spotless out- 
side and within. Vivid colors mark the dress of the 
people. Peasant women of Agram wear snowy linen 
skirts even when at work in the fields ; while white 
trousers are common among the men. Purple or white 
head-dresses are very conspicuous, and in the summer 
season men and women, as v/ell as children, go barefoot. 
The railroads inspire the utmost confidence. Trainmen 
are beautifully uniformed; and at every grade crossing 
in country and village, there is a signal man and gate- 
keeper who fixes the gate for every train and opens it 
when danger is past. The best ballasted road, protecting 
blocks, careful watchmen, overhead bridges where 
needed, as well as train comforts for passengers, teach 

I4Q 



some important lessons to Americans who too often 
magnify speed at the expense of safety. 

The approach to the Adriatic Sea through the Dal- 
matian Alps is unsurpassed even in America. The beauti- 
ful green terraced fields mingle with rocks and water- 
falls. The perfect pine forests like symetrical and taper- 
ing church spires, the towering but wavering mountain 
outlines, the blossoming flowers and orchards in garden 
and on hillside, all crowned with ideal sunshine, afford 
us a day of rest and delight. The panorama is one 
which thrills a stranger with gladness never to be for- 
gotten. The long dreaded railroad tour of a thousand 
miles, though lacking in luxury, has been very eventful 
and attended with sights most refreshing and restful. 
I wish I could join with a hundred of my friends in re- 
newing this trip, especially through the Dalmatian 
mountains. 

Now the sea comes in sight. We are nearing Fiunie. 
Winding down the mountains, we clap our hands in 
ecstasy at the sight of the blue waters of the Adriatic sea 
and the glorious sunset of the western sky. Our steamer 
is waiting in the port of Fiume to carry us to Venice. 
A quiet night' s rest with pleasant memories and we shall 
wake in the sight of the beautiful city "Whose streets are 
water and whose vehicles are boats." 



ISO 



XVI. 
VENICE AND FLORENCE 

THE tourist who enters Venice by steamer in the 
early morning is strangely impressed with his 
unique surroundings. He will be landed, not by 
the usual small boat, but by means of a gondola rowed 
by one boatman with a single oar, which is slowly worked 
by the man who stands on the stern of his little craft. 
The few passengers soon come to believe that by-and-by 
they will safely arrive somewhere. There is no other 
mode of travel in Venice except by foot. There are no 
carriages or beasts of burden of any sort. With difficulty 
men wheel carts and carry loads over the arched bridges, 
three hundred of which are said to span the canals 
which thread the city. Let the gondola man take your 
hand and help you up the submerged steps to the door 
of your hotel ; watch your step. Most of the hotels and 
business houses of this water-girt city face upon the 
water. There are many thousands of these gondoliers 
who ply their art in doing both passenger and freight 
traffic in the city. 

Venice was founded on a hundred islands about 
500 B. C. The Rialto is the most famous bridge and 
for centuries was the only bridge that crossed the Grand 
Canal. It is a relic of the early glory of Venice. Its huge 

151 



arch is entirely of marble, is one hundred fifty feet long, 
cost half a milloin dollars and is said to rest on twelve 
thousand trunks of elm trees. This bridge, like many 
of the architectural ancient landmarks, is weather-beaten 
and shows the finger marks of time. Yet all is facinat- 
ing because around it clusters the charm of the history 
which crowds one's thoughts as he walks through these 
ancient streets. There is even a special charm about 
our hotel because it is said to have once been a palace, 
though used as a public house for tourists for the past 
five hundred years. 

One is scarcely located in his room till he is off for a 
jaunt through the streets. These wind about very ir- 
regularly and are very narrow, often from four to eight 
feet wide ; but they are kept clean though they are dark 
and apparently unhealthy. The Grand Canal is the princely 
avenue of this famous city, which is lined with churches, 
palaces, hotels and splendid dwellings. When first built, 
Venice was the link between Europe and Asia and con- 
trolled the commerce of the world. The first bank deposit 
was estkblished here. Venice boasts the first printing of 
books in Italy. The first newspaper was issued and sold 
in this city for a "gazetta" from which comes the word 
"gazette" so common today. A boat ride in the moonlight 
with Italian singers aboard; a seventy instrument band 
concert in Saint Mark's square in the evening with ten 
thousand people for an audience; or a journey by day- 
light to the parks, art galleries and busy shops will furnish 
restful entertainment for every available hour. All other 
cities resemble one another. Venice is like itself alone. 
It is the quietest city of great size you were ever in. It is 
indeed the "city of silence." If the gondoliers would 

152 




Feeding the Pigeons in St. Mark's Square, Venice. 




Gondolas and Rialto Bridge, Venice. 




Rialto Bridge, Venice. 




Piazetta Pillars in Venice. 



lower their tones, you could sleep all hours of the 
twenty-four so far as noise is concerned. Venice has its 
"Bridge of Sighs" near which there are modern prisoners 
still, and over which thousands have passed to their doom 
of execution in the dungeon which they still show 
travelers to remind them of the cruel age of the Doges, 
who occupied the palace near-by. The industries of 
glass and lace manufacture, fishing, etc., will assure you 
again and again that these are not an idle or beggarly 
class of Italians. They are proud of their city and have 
a right to be. They are intelligent and industrious and 
seem to be a superior type of people, in contrast with 
the southern Italians so often found on the immigrant 
ship. 

Every traveler takes an early morning stroll to see 
Saint Mark's Square which occupies an acre, well paved 
and facing palaces and shops on three sides, with Saint 
Mark's church on the fourth side of the square, which 
includes the tower clock and the bell tower known as 
the Campanile. The tower and cathedral are not attract- 
ive enough to hasten us in oiir morning walk through the 
flocks of pigeons that gather upon the pavement to be 
fed and coddled by the travelers and natives who delight 
to pet them. The Ducal palace and Saint Mark's are 
worthy of a long visit. The cathedral is eight hundred 
years old and is a sort of Christian mosque. Its mosaics 
of glass and gold cover nearly forty- six thousand square 
feet. This is called the "Church of Gold." Above its 
door are the four great bronze horses that were once in 
Rome, then in Constantinople, again in Paris and now 
back again in Venice to stay as the guests of the city per- 
haps to the end of time. As we enter the church of Saint 

153 



Mark's we pause before the alabaster columns, some of 
which were taken from Solomon's Temple and others 
from Jerusalem and Athens. We gaze upon the statues 
of the twelve apostles and the Virgin, and mark the 
gorgeous decorations of a thousand years. There are 
signs of decay within and without. They seem to speak 
in the voices of the past and bring back the forms of 
noble Venetians who have gone in and out over these 
magnificent marble stairways. 

A separate volume would be required fitly to describe 
the art treasures of the Ducal Palace alone. Tintoretto's 
"Paradise," the largest oil painting in the world, seventy 
feet long and about twenty-five feet high, is seen here 
above the throne of the Doges. It was completed by the 
artist when he was eighty years old. If you join our 
party today as we walk through the art galleries of the 
Doges' Palace, you will probably not forget the stairway 
where the Doges were crowned in the days of their glory. 
Many of the art treasures will be passed by or forgotten 
as you note the "black letter box" in the wall, and descend 
to the prison and see the place of execution where human 
blood ran fresh and strong in the days of inquisition. 
The great iron bars of the windows spelled despair for 
all who passed over the "Bridge of Sighs." Here we 
^re told are more than two hundred modern criminals 
who are waiting a more humane closing of their career. 

In the afternoon we shall find outselves in the 
Academy of Art, studying the paintings which are the 
attraction of artists the world over. Most famous among 
these, and copied the oftenest perhaps, is "The Annun- 
ciation" or glorification of the Virgin among the angels. 
Here is an example of the finest art of the day when it 

154 



was made. As a work of art, it would be foolish to find 
fault with it ; but in company with many other visitors I 
can but faithfully record a protest against the foolish and 
un-Scriptural thought that has been wrought out by the 
skilled brush. Many of the great artists in their efforts 
to portray the religious beliefs of the age in which they 
lived, simply reproduced their own prejudices. Art is 
thus made to contribute to bigotry rather than to truth. 

Wearied with the bewildering display of art, we 
will rest ourselves with a boat ride around the Grand 
Canal and a walk through the public gardens. The 
Italian sunshine gilds the marble columns, the garden 
trees and flowers with a glory with which no artist can 
compete. The paradise above may be more beautiful and 
the eternal days more restful ; but it is doubtful whether, 
in this world, may be found such a union of famous art 
and natural beauty as. charm the tourist in a visit to this 
city by the sea, "Venice, the Only," There is not another 
city like thee. 

Venice is a good preparation for a visit to Florence. 
This attractive city of 230,000 inhabitants is not only a 
monument of modern enterprise, but the chief sanctuary 
of Italian painting and sculpture. No tourist in Europe 
can afford to miss Florence. Michael Angelo made it 
famous with his chisel ; Savonarola made it sacred with 
his martyrdom. It is a "beacon light" of medieval 
history. 

We left our Hotel Luna in Venice for our railway 
station in a gondola. The time-table says our train leaves 
the station at 14:40 and arrives at Florence 23:20, forty 
minutes before midnight. Reserved apartments give us 
a smokeless or "non fumier" ride to Bologna where we 

155 



change cars after a fine restaurant dinner where our party 
of sixteen thirsty prohibitionists sit down to a well-laden 
table burdened with just one hundred eight generous 
bottles of wine and liquors. For more reasons than one, 
we dare not fall in with the fashion of our Italian 
friends on this memorable occasion. Having escaped the 
enticements of Bacchus, we feast our eyes on well culti- 
vated vineyards, prevented however, from watching land- 
scapes, because of the concealment of night and our pas- 
sage through forty-eight tunnels. 

The streets and all modern improvements are so 
thoroughly wrought as to command an American's deep- 
est confidence and respect. The ghosts of poets, artists, 
ecclesiastics and statesmen seem to confront you as you 
pass through the streets or sit in meditation at the window 
of your hotel. This is the home of Dante, once driven 
from the town but now honored by a monument which 
calls him "the supreme poet." Florence . hanged and 
burned Savonarola in the public square A. D. 1498, and 
now asks the world to honor the spot which is marked 
by a bronze disc near the old palace of the Medici. Galileo 
the astronomer, whose tomb now graces the church of 
Saint Croce, was scoffed by his fellow citizens and ban- 
ished from their company as a crank. How a few cen- 
turies change the reputation of the hero, the artist, the 
reformer! This age rejects the faithful servant: the 
future crowns the martyr. 

After the downfall of Rome and the gloom of the 
dark ages had passed, the light of Italian art and literature 
shone brightest in Florence. Today it is a beautiful 
modern city well sheltered and surrounded by vine-clad 
hills. The river Arno flows through its sacred precincts 

is6 



as it has done for the past six centuries which cover 
the main epoch of this famous resort. Its galleries, 
palaces and churches contain the chief exhibit of Roman 
Catholic art on canvas and in marble. It has a religious 
rather than a civic history ; its famous men of genius and 
religion have made it what it is. One cannot know re- 
ligious life or art in Italy from original sources until he 
has studied the treasures of Florence. The plan of these 
pages forbids my giving more than a traveler's hasty 
glimpse of features that entertain and instruct. 

It is a pleasing education to spend one's first hours 
with a competent guide in the galleries of Uffizi and Pitti. 
Before entering these treasure-houses of art, we are 
shown the Vecchio, with Neptune fountain in front. 
Nothing equal to this great bronze exhibit of sea deities 
can be found. It has been the adornment of this open 
court for almost four centuries. Near it and in front of the 
Palazzo Vecchio, we reverently gaze upon the spot, 
doubtless historic, where Savonarola was burned in pres- 
ence of the multitudes because he would not retract his 
utterances against the Papal religion. Standing thus in 
front of the old town hall whose walls were once red- 
dened by the flame which consumed this hero and echoed 
the curses of the crowd who glorified in his agony and 
defeat, we could but thank God for the triumph of the 
reformer after these centuries have reversed the verdict 
of his accusers. 

Close to the Grand Palazzo and on the other side of 
the square, is the celebrated "Portico of the Lancers," 
so called because the Duke's spearmen were once stationed 
here beside the palace. Michael Angelo planned this 
piazza, of which Lorenzo de Medici said, "Nothing finer 

157 



can possibly be invented." This loggia is now used to 
shelter rare works of art. Among the master pieces here 
are "Perseus holding up the head of the monster 
Medusa" and the marble group of John of Bologna, 
entitled "The Rape of the Sabines." This is really an 
unparalleled outdoor street exhibit of statuary. 

My journal record permits only the mere mention 
of certain pieces of art in the Uffizi gallery, all of which 
are of untold value because of their authorship and some 
are of unmeasured merit. Reference is made to only a 
fev/ of these which most impressed the writer. The- 
"Death of Adonis" by a pupil of IMichael Angelo ; "The 
Adoration of the Child by the Wise Men" by Giorgione; 
"The Annunciation" by Leonardi de Vinci ; "The Birth of 
Venus on Shell" by Botticelli ; Fra Angelico's "Madonna 
and Child" ; "The Knife Grinder" by an unknown sculp- 
tor ; Correggio's "A.doring the Child" ; "Raphael's 
"Madonna of the Gold Finch" ; Ruben's unfinished "King 
of France" ; "The Boar Hunt" by Snyder ; the inlaid 
tables, the work of twenty-two men for twenty-five years 
at a cost of half a million francs, with natural stone for 
every variety of color : these are but a few in the wilder- 
ness of attractions which we must soon leave for a walk 
through the old Florentine bridge called Ponte Vecchio. 
This long passageway from the Uffizi on the one side of 
the Arno to the Pitti palace on the other, is practically 
a public street adorned with works of art, and made fa- 
mous by poets and hrstorians of all the world. 

The Hall of Saturn in the Pitti Palace, which still 
is used as a residence of the king and queen when they 
visit Florence, is in itself a most wonderful house of art 
treasures. One writer has said that "If Europe should 



lose every gallery of art save this, it would still be rich." 
The floors are of the finest inlaid material. Tables of 
mosaic, malachite, gold and silver at fabulous cost con- 
front us. You are bewildered with the elaborately dec- 
orated walls, the gorgeous roof and sculptured marble 
statues. Among the sweetest and most attractive works of 
art are Raphael's unequalled painting, familiar the world 
over, "The Madonna of the Chair" and Carlo's "Magda- 
lene." 

.But we have only a few days instead of v/eeks in this 
city. We hasten later to the Monastery of Saint Mark's 
where we tarry in the refectory or dining-room of the 
monks. Chief among the attractions of this resort are 
Fra Angelico's paintings. He is called the "Angel 
Brother" because of his painting of angels and angels' 
faces. They are chiefly interpretations of the Madonna 
and the crucifixion. Here- again I am compelled to raise 
the question for others to answer whether a different 
type of spiritual life from that represented by the monks 
of this age, would not have given a different interpreta- 
tion of both truth and fancy when transferred to canvas. 

We will visit the monks' cells where they wrote, slept, 
looked out of narrow windows and meditated in their 
dreary days of confinement. Here is the very bedroom 
of Savonarola, with his desk and chair. We will sacredly 
touch them and wish we might take them for relics. As 
there is little doubt about their genuineness, they com- 
mand our veneration for the sake of the man who used 
them. Here is some burnt wood, the smoke of which 
choked our hero before his martydom. We seem to hear 
him speak as his voice thundered, "Be brave, ye have 

159 



work to do. Don't drift." This holy reformer's foot- 
prints we tread with reverence. 

But we pass into the academy which now shelters 
Michael Angelo's immortal statue of David. The story 
bears repeating, of how a rejected block of marble lying 
unused for fifty years was admired by this genius, who 
seized his chisel and enthusiastically carved the statue 
which is the pride of the city and the crown of all sculp- 
ture. This Bible character of David with the pebble in his 
hand commissioned to kill Goliath, stands erect, eighteen 
feet high. The look of faith and courage, the historic sling 
and the confident purpose of this Bible hero chiseled in 
marble, rendered the artist as immortal as King David 
himself. The completion of this statue was so eventful in 
Florence that for manny years they reckoned the events of 
history as happening so long "after the completion of the 
David." For many years it stood in the open court of the 
city. The original, now sheltered in the academy, has 
niany imitations but no equal. It is sufficient to lift its 
author to the first place among the sculptors of all hist- 
ory. Fra Angelico's "Last Judgment" is worth a long 
study and starts fresh comment upon the Scripture state- 
ments of our Lord. 

In the afternoon we will visit the court of the 
National Museum, or the Loggia of Bargello. This was 
used as a prison till 1864. Here are found war relics, 
coats-of-mail, a ten-inch gun decorated for the sake of 
art rather than utility, and a vast variety of absurd ideas 
of war in contrast with the progressive thought of our 
day. The old staircase is being copied by artists from 
various parts of the world who make long journeys to 
this court as to a school of rarest value. But we must 

160 




Trajan Arch, near Forum, Rome. 




Round Temple, Rome. 



pass out through the rain, and in spite of the storm, visit 
Dante's old birthplace. The Battistero or Baptistry with 
its great bronze doors, of which it has been said they were 
"good enough for paradise," has enough work and dis- 
play of artistic skill to challenge days of study. The 
Duomo is the giant cathedral of Brunelleschi. Its gate- 
way, corridors and internal architecture, illuminated only 
by candles, are majestic beyond description ; but the dome 
which rises as the crown of the building is the superior 
of all other domes, unless it be that of Saint Peter's at 
Rome. Near-by is the graceful shaft of Giotto's Cam- 
panile. This is the most striking, most graceful and tal- 
lest monument of Gothic architecture in all Italy. 

Every eager traveler will want to visit the Church of 
Saint Croce, the Westminister Abbey of Florence. Here 
are the tombs of many men famed in the history of the 
city. Alichael Angelo's tomb pays tribute to his genius 
in the statutes of Sculpture, Architecture and Painting. 
The one bows in sorrow, another weeps, the third holds 
a brush in pensive mood. Above this monument are paint- 
ings from the artist's own hand. Dante's monument is 
here, although Ravenna has his tomb. The immortal poet 
was driven from his native city but is here honored above 
all others of his class. By his monument are statues of two 
weeping ones, while the third is ready to crown him. 
I am struck with the inconsistency of placing in this 
Christian church the monument of Nicolus Machivelli, 
the famous political deceiver, or champion diplomat, ac- 
cording to Roman and Jesuit policy. He was the author 
of the famous motto, "The end justifies the means." But 
I entertain no protest as I stand in the presence of the 
tomb of Galileo, the great patrician and scientist of Flor- 

i6i 



ence. He is represented as holding a telescope in one 
hand and, though blind in his last years, seems to have a 
clear vision of distant things. The big round world is 
under him, for he has compassed earth and slcy. 

Continuous rain spoils the reputation of Florence 
with our party, but we must give it the word of praise for 
being the best paved and cleanest city of its size we have 
found in Europe. It is also the cheapest and most de- 
sirable city for shopping for an American tourist. Let 
us take another walk across the bridge of the River Arno, 
view the city from the heights of Michael Angelo, bid 
it farewell and hasten to Rome. 

Free from the charms of the city, we may rest our 
eyes upon the summer fields and well grained and grape 
planted plains, every foot of which seems occupied to 
advantage. The grape vines are trained on trees planted 
in regular order for the purpose ; for wine making and 
grape culture are the chief industries of this part of 
Italy. 



162 



XVII. 
ROME YESTERDAY AND TODAY 

IF you would forget Rome, never enter it ; for, as 
someone has said, "You may take your leave of 
Rome, but Rome will never take its leave of you." 
In the old Roman Forum we are shown the point which 
was thought to be the center t)f the world. Surely it has 
been the center of history for more than twenty cen- 
turies. The government still keeps a live wolf near the 
monument of Romulus and Remus, out of respect for the 
fabled founding of the city many centuries before Christ. 
No city is such a blend of the ancient and modern, not 
even Athens. All about the city are evidences of the 
old Pagan civilization which framed laws when savages 
were hunted where Paris now stands. Nothing like the 
Coliseum at Rome exists elsewhere. It transcends all 
previous imagination and estimate. Not far from this 
ancient ruin is the yet unfinished and now greatest monu- 
ment in the world ; that of Victor Emanuel II., who, on 
the 20th of September, 1870, broke down the modern 
wall now visible and marched down "September Twen- 
tieth Street," took possession of the palace and pro- 
claimed Italy united forever. This edifice cost over 
$5,000,000. It is of colossal proportions and publishes a 
victory greater than any of ancient days. Garibaldi and 
Emanuel overlooking the business center of Rome and 

163 



the historic Tiber and Saint Peter's seem ready for new 
conquests and you can ahnost hear them speak from their 
statues, the best word of prophecy concerning Italy's 
glorious future. 

Rome bears now the marks of rapid progress. It 
has grown to over half a million, which is more than 
thrice its population in the days when Church and State 
were united under Papal rule. As one drives about the 
city or rides on the excellent tramway cars, he is surprised 
at the multiplication of modern business blocks as he is 
bewildered by the ancient ruins and weather-beaten 
cathedrals. Perhaps no city in Europe has a better water 
supply than Rome. The m,ountain water flows through 
aqueducts and supplies fountains everywhere ; sparkling 
streams gush from monuments and flow through parks 
in refreshing splendor. The Italian language seems the 
universal tongue, but we are not confronted by an army 
of beggars as in many port cities. You drive to the left 
instead of to the right on the highways. Customs all 
about remind one that he is half way between New York 
and Jerusalem. English speaking clerks abound at the 
hotels and in most of the shops. An international postal 
system, express and transportation companies, and all 
forms of commercial thrift maks it as easy to live in Rome 
as anywhere. Prices are lower because wages are smaller. 
Italian laborers and mechanics receive, for the same labor, 
from one-half to one-third what the same workmen 
would earn in America^ Wages are still lower in south- 
em Italy and Sicily. 

If one would see Rome in a few days, he must 
carry eyes on all sides of his head, looking at once to- 
wards art, religion, history, politics and business. He 

164 



must watch for buildings that are famous, paintings and 
busts that are historic. He must Hsten to guides, bells, 
guards, drivers and clerks. To see the ecclesiastical past 
we must visit about fifteen churches, from Saint Peter's 
the largest in the world, to the Pantheon, which is a 
cross between a cemetery and a cathedral ruin. Saint 
Peter's with its past glory and its present prestige, its 
ashes of the apostle and the bronze statue of Saint Peter 
so revered by the Latin Church, is the most attractive 
place for tourists, though not so popular as a place of 
worship. A responsive service conducted by twenty-two 
priests showed only ten of the laity of their faith present 
and perhaps fifty spectators. Of course on state oc- 
casions, there are crowds ; but a stranger has not far to 
go in Rome to learn that the masses of the citizens are 
less interested in the Church and less subservient to her 
mandates than in former days before the separation of 
Church and State. 

On crossing the Tiber on our approach to Saint 
Peter's, the tomb of Hadrian or Castle of Saint Angelo is 
most prominent. We pause first to gaze at the yellow 
stream whose sands and turbid waters have engulfed 
such countless treasures and hold the secrets of many a 
victim of royal or papal tyranny. No longer the 
mausoleum of Hadrian himself, this tower is called the 
castle of Saint Angelo from the days of Pope Gregory the 
Great because the angel Michael is said to have appeared 
to stay the plague. 

The Sistine Chapel adjoining the papal residence 
forms a part of the Vatican which contains no fewer than 
a thousand rooms and is the art and library treasure 
house of classic Rome. On certain days only the public 

165 



are admitted. Papal jurisdiction is complete in the Vati- 
can and in Saint John's Lateran Church, in which latter 
cathedral, they tell us, repose the heads of both Paul and 
Peter. But I was more interested in visiting the Sancta 
Scala or "Sacred Stairs" of twenty-eight steps, on which 
Luther climbed till his conscience, awakened by the voice, 
caused him to arise with the words, "The just shall live 
by faith." Here is the birthplace of Protestantism, where 
Luther began his career as a reformer. The tourist will 
find the faithful still devoutly climbing the same stair- 
way hoping for relief and rest to their souls, 
of a cathedral, is useless as such, being in the suburbs of 

"Saint Paul's without the walls," though in the form 
the city ; but it is an exquisitely beautiful monument to 
the great apostle. They say his remains rest beneath the 
altar. Surely the corridors of eighty magnificent solid 
marble columns, forty feet high, the strangely entwined 
mosaic pillars in the cloister court, the lofty Latin cross 
and the noble architectural facade constitute a majestic 
tribute to one whose epistles and whose inprisonment 
have forever made venerable this city of Pauline toil and 
suffering. 

The Maritime prison in another part ofthe city where 
Paul and Peter and thousands since Nero's reign have 
been incarcerated, brought fresh meaning to the New 
Testament words. "I am now ready to be offered and the 
time of my departure is at hand." Our party will not 
soon forget the sad circumstance under which we gather- 
ed in this prison where were read to us those final words 
of the martyr apostle, "Henceforth there is laid up for 
me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the right- 
eous Judge, shall give me at this day : and not to me only, 

i66 



but unto all them also that love His appearing." Our 
faithful conductor only a few hours before had received 
the telegram announcing the unlooked-for death of his 
wife, who had passed to her crown on the day preceding. 

It is an interesting comment upon the modern and 
ancient religious life of Rome, that the Jesuit Church is 
one of the richest and most worshipful, and the most 
largely attended of any church in the city. Protestants 
have, under the present government, perfect religious 
liberty where once they were refused recognition by the 
Church and State, both being controlled by the voice 
f-rom the Vatican. Saint Peter's with the Vatican and 
Saint John's Lateran church, the place of the early papal 
residence, are the only portions of the city now under 
exclusive control and authority of the Church. No laws 
of Italy apply in the worship of the Lateran palace. In 
this old palace of the popes, mass can be celebrated at the 
high altar only by the Pope or someone appointed to 
represent him. 

The Coliseum, built by the slave labor of myriads of 
captive Jews, where Christians were once devoured by 
lions and where gladiators died in deadly combat to 
satisfy sixty thousand blood-thirsty spectators, is a 
stupendous ruin. We pass from Paganism to Christianity 
again when we step from the Coliseum and the great 
Roman Forum to the church of "Saint Peter's of the 
Chain." I scarcely know in such transitions, which is 
the greater, my pity of the paganism of Nero's day, or my 
disrelish for the superstitions which cluster around the 
Roman Catholic traditions. They say the chains which 
actually bound Peter are kept here, and in August of each 

167 



year, are brought forth to confirm and promote a super- 
stitious faith. 

Turning from the distrust of tradition to the glory 
of architecture and the beauty of art, we are confronted 
with the work of Michael Angelo as seen in his original 
"Moses" to be found in this church. This has indeed no 
equal in chiseled marble except the majestic "David" in 
Florence by the same incomparable sculptor. 

Every Christian tourist must visit the Catacombs 
outside the city along the Appian Way. These under- 
ground tunnels with their inscriptions and sarcophagi, 
their emblems and evidences of faith, bring us very close 
to the real sufferings of heroic Christianity in the third 
and fourth centuries. How they thrill the soul and in- 
struct us in the simple faith of early primitive religion! 

In the Cathedral of Saint John's Lateran, we visit 
the exhibit of large statues of the apostles with symbolic 
emblems designating the character of each. Paul bears 
the "Sword of the Spirit" which is the Word of God 
open ; Matthew treads on an open money bag ; Peter has 
a key in his hand to unlock the gates ; Philip, with a cross 
in hand and his foot on the dragon, reveals victory over 
beastly passion ; Thomas holds a square as if he must 
know without doubt ; Bartholomew displays a skin and 
knife, for he is said to have been skinned alive; James 
reads an open Bible ; Saint John appears with the eagle ; 
Andrew leans on the cross. 

As we have further time, we will visit the pavilion in 
which is found Guido Rehi's "Aurora" or Apollo the sun 
god in his chariot attended by seven hours in female 
form. The colors of this famous painting are gorgeous. 
It is painted upon the ceiling and may be studied by re- 




Constantine Arch near Coliseum, Rome. 





Appian Way, Rome. 




Garibaldi Statue, Rome. 




Birds-eye view of Rome from hill near Garibaldi Statue. 



flection in a mirror placed upon a center table. This is 
one of the most attractive pieces of art in all Rome. 
Strange that this young artist of twenty-six years left 
behind him little else to perpetuate his fame. 

You cannot leave Rome without carrying deep im- 
pressions of the view, first and last, of Saint Peter's and 
the Vatican. These buildings with the open court in 
front and the obelisk, have been famous for centuries. 
On this spot Nero persecuted the Christians, pouring oil 
upon them and burning them alive. Now Christians are 
safe from tyrany, if not from taxation. The obelisk 
standing in this geometrical square, when raised here was 
to be lifted in reverent silence. For some cause it would 
not come to its place, and at last, one of the workmen 
cried, "Wet the ropes." It was done and the lofty 
monolith was anchored to its foundation. The wise me- 
chanic was pardoned for opening his lips to secure the 
triumph of the work. 

The dome of Saint Peter's is obscured by the long 
facade in front. This unequalled cathedral occupies 
eighteen thousand square yards and is nearly twice as long 
as Saint Paul's in London and is equal to two of the 
Mosque of Saint Sofia. Every one is impressed with 
the stupendous dimensions of this marvelous court of 
worship : In it you could hide an army. The old red 
sandstone and marble pavement is a most historic one, and 
is not likely to be forgotten by the visitor. Charlemagne 
knelt here in 1800 to receive the crown which was placed 
upon his head by the Pope. The Jubilee door in Saint 
Peter's, opened only once in twenty-five years, will long 
be remembered. Raphael's "Transfiguration" in mosaic 
is so fine that one can scarcely believe that it is not a 

i6q 



painting. By the wall stands the dark bronze statue of 
Saint Peter, whose foot, worn but not defaced by the 
touch of hand and human lips, has doubtless been kissed 
by thousands. A halo is about his head, two keys are in 
his hand, and one finger points upward. Above and 
about the base of the dome are the words, "Thou art 
Peter, and upon this rock will I build my Church." 
Under the great high altar, about six feet below the floor 
of Saint Peter's is a gold urn said to contain the remains 
of the great apostle. Two fine alabaster columns four 
inches thick stand in front ; and near-by, at the base of the 
staircase. Pope Pius VI. is represented kneeling in wor- 
ship. At least seventy-five candles surround the crypt of 
the altar where Peter's remains repose. In the side 
chapel, mass is being said, chants sung and the great 
organ is accompanied by a choir of musical voices. The 
confessionals in eleven different languages, with one priest 
attending each, are here for the accommodation of those 
who feel their need of the father confessor. The great 
chair of Peter is being repaired. Pause for a long study 
of the monument of Alexander VI : Death is coming out 
of the door and England is under the foot of religion; 
because, about 1600, the English Church rejected the 
Papacy. One will not forget the "Last Judgment" by 
Michael Aneglo as seen in the Sistine Chapel. It is not 
very attractive in outline or colors and has been draped 
and retouched by later artists ; but it is great and original 
and only Michael Angelo could have made it. Here also 
I have noted in my journal, as taking a strong hold upon 
memory, Raphael's "Saint Jerome" and his "John Bap- 
tist." His "Transfiguration" of Christ is the genuine 
original painting made in 1483- 1520 and presents Jesus 

170 



on the throne, Mary ruHng with Him, and the Holy 
Spirit as a dove always above the throne. Days are 
needed for the study of the paintings and statuary to be 
seen in the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. 

Of course we must look in upon the Capuchian 
monks where, with fine floral decorations above and 
strange chanting of priests and monks in the chapel, we 
are taken to the lower rooms where there are four 
thousand human skulls, skeletons, etc., piled up in hideous 
groups reminding us of Ezekiel's vision of "dry bones." 
Pay your franc and buy five pictures of the five rooms 
and you have done your religious duty as estimated by 
these kindly gentlemen who welcome foreigners for the 
Catholic Church, what the howling dervishes are to the 
sake of the coin they receive. These men are to the 
Moslem religion and faith. 

The Pantheon with its broadest dome in the world, 
one hundred and forty-three feet across with equal height 
and a thirty foot opening through which abundant light, 
fresh air and rain from the sky descend, is a place for 
every traveler to visit. Victor Emanuel is buried here; 
also Raphael the painter and King Humbert. On the 
door is written as a relic of the Middle Ages, "Indul- 
gences full, sufficient and constant for life and for death." 
The great pillars of the Pantheon are said to be the "oldest 
stuff" preserved in Rome.. It is neither a church nor a 
temple, but the blend of cathedral and ruined mosque. 
We sign our names on the register and go outside to the 
round temple and other views, among them the old stone 
"Mouth of Truth" to which Romans once placed their 
hand and swore in most sacred form by their pagan gods. 

We have barely time for a glimpse of the church of 
171 



Saint Cecilia. Under the marble altar is the original 
statue. A most gorgeous crypt and tomb to this patron 
of music has been reared. No finer Christian structure is 
erected to womankind anywhere than this monument of 
Saint Cecilia. Its rich mosaic of gold and glass, its 
polished pillars, its beautiful arched and inlaid workman- 
ship form a rare tribute to a somewhat traditional but 
most beautiful character. It seemed to us an idolatrous 
waste of money. 

From the Capitol Hill Museum, requiring many hours 
of study, one is likely to carry away a distinct pleasure 
from having sat in the presence of two famous pieces of 
statuary, "The Marble Faun" and "The Dying Gladiator." 
The busts of philosophers and statesmen from Homer 
down to the present ; the ,"Boy with a Thorn," "Doves in 
the Basin," and the "Roman Wolf" are certain also to 
attract the tourist and consume his time. 

Art is yet alive in Rome and religion is not wholly 
efifete. Even in the shadow of wasted cathedrals and 
pagan pillars, like an olive orchard in a desert, may be 
found water springs of pure religion. Some of the best 
missionary work and the finest schools are to be seen in 
Rome. I would gladly tarry at Rome's fountains and 
museums, walk about her monuments and shrines, linger 
among her books and beside her master paintings. Her 
schools and her shaded parks comfort and profit the 
studious tourist. This Scriptural and classic city upon 
her seven hills and alive-as by the presence of a thousand 
ancient philosophers and patriots, constrains us to bow 
with veneration. This is Rome, the great central city of 
law, art, oratory and religion. It grips our memory. The 
impress of its former glory and of its present day mag- 
nificence can never be effaced. 

172 




Leaning Tower of Pisa. 




Campo Santo, (Holy Field) Pisa. 



XVIII. 
NORTHERN ITALY 

UNE first is an ideal morning and the Italian sun- 
shine adds glory to the plains by the sea. The fields, 
orchards and pastures clothed with flocks and herds 
afford a beautiful panorama of western Italy. After six 
hours we are again anchored in our hotel at Pisa. There 
are but few noted sights in this city and most of these 
are in a group. A few hours will suffice for a satisfying 
visit. We look first at the Campanile or leaning tower. 
This great monument is a freak in architecture and has 
raised a thousand questions in every generation of visitors. 
It is one hundred seventy-nine feet high and encloses 
two hundred ninety-four now much worn stone steps. 
It contains in its belfry seven bells, one of which weighs 
six tons. To view the surrounding country and write 
postal cards in the top of this tower amid the clanging of 
bells may satisfy the novelty seeker, but it does not 
answer the question so often raised as to whether this 
tower really sank to its present position or was built so 
at the beginning. After examination, I was personally 
convinced that it was an architectural fad. It required 
one hundred seventy-five years in building and cost an 
incredible sum of money, with no advantage but to draw 
the curious and satisfy the sense of wonder. There are 
other leaning towers in northern Italy. This one has 
served a good purpose to both philosopher and traveler. 

173 



Of equal interest is the Baptistry near-by. The 
strange musical echo under the dome of this building, 
which is one hundred ninety feet high, is to be found no- 
where else. The musical reverberations that return the 
exact tones of voice from singer or instrument, prolong- 
itig the same, serve as a happy entertainment to those who 
are fortunate enough to spend a half-hour experimenting 
with varied tones and songs. 

The great Cathedral close at hand, which is seven 
hundred years old. contains the famous hanging bronze 
lamp which is called Galileo's lamp. The swinging of 
this lamp from the lofty ceiling is said to be the origin 
of the pendulum in all the grandfathers' clocks of modern 
civilization. Some very queer paintings are found upon 
the walls. A most remarkable pulpit of carved wood 
shows marks of genius in the builder and makes famous 
the otherwise ordinary cathedral. From this we pass to 
the Campo Santo or burial place, lined by corridors, where 
repulsive paintings illustrate gross medieval theology and 
Bible interpretations concerning hell and heaven. Here 
52,800 people are buried in twenty-three shiploads of soil 
brought from Jerusalem by the Crusaders. It is a weird, 
cold and dismal place of faded beauty from which we 
are ready to make an early exit, desiring to return no 
more. Pisa was once a port of the sea, but now has re- 
treated and the intervening miles to the shore are oc- 
cupied by farm land, gardens and residences of much 
attractiveness. 

Our railway journey from Pisa to Genoa is along the 
coast. This road, built at an incredible expenditure of 
engineering genius and money, is almost a railroad 
through the rocks. One of our party counted eighty- 

174 



seven tunnels on this route of about one hundred two 
miles. 

Genoa, with a population of 272,000, is a city of lofty 
and well built palaces and business blocks. Our hotel, 
the "London," is an excellent one near the station and 
close to the monument of Columbus. We must visit this 
city ; for what American would pass by the native city of 
Columbus? A snap shot of the monument is taken. The 
carved granite figures on the four sides of this famous 
structure, properly interpreted, would make a little book 
of , Columbus' history. A visit to the birthplace and home 
of Columbus where he lived as a boy, reveals the inscrip- 
tion on the old residence near the new city post-office. 
We are told by an old janitor, that this is "all there is to 
see." 

In the suburbs of this city there is the most noted 
"holy ground" or Santo Campo to be found in Italy. Our 
conductor, who has traveled the world over, tells us that 
this is the greatest cemetery he knows anything about. 
It is artistically formed and carefully preserved. Strik- 
ing monuments are located in the ground, on the rotun- 
das, in corridors, in the mausoleums and vaults, every- 
where, and in all this exhibition are revealed the combined 
artistic taste of many centuries of religious art and 
veneration for which northern Italy is famous. Personal 
loves, Christian faith, all sorts of emblematic thoughts, 
are depicted in sculpture. Marble is wrought into vol- 
umes. Family tombs are made into art galleries of af- 
fection. A modern crematory has been attached. A 
richly adorned domed chapel has been erected in honor 
of the thousands whose dust consecrates the ground. 
Indeed, it is a most significant and suggestive city of the 

175 



departed. It is in great contrast with the Mohammedan, 
Jewish and French cemeteries to be found in Constanti- 
nople, Paris and the Holy Land. 

We have time and must visit the cathedral of San 
Lorenzo, built 1 100-1300. It is noted for its black and 
white marble stripes. In it is shown a small sarcophagus 
which, they tell us, was brought from Jerusalem by the 
Crusaders. On the outside is carved the story of John 
the Baptist and other Scriptural matter ; the actual chain 
with which his hands were bound is shown. Only men 
are permitted to view this sarcophagus and women must 
step aside and all for the reason that a w^oman caused 
John to be beheaded. The richly carved walnut seat of 
Paganinni where the renowned artist played his violin, 
and the seats occupied by the choir who accompanied the 
master violinist, furnish interesting features of this 
cathedral. The Madonna painted on wood by Luke is 
shown us — a very doubtful piece of art. This and other 
famous paintings are kept covered by curtains. 

A tramway ride about the city and up the incline to 
the top of the hill, where we have a charming view of 
the sea-port, the sea, and the whole city, leaves a delight- 
ful memory. We later take our final view of the Mediter- 
ranean harbor as we push across the country to Milan. 
We are informed that Genoa furnishes a most remark- 
able illustration of conditions growing out. of excessive 
taxation and papal oppression coming down the centuries 
of Italy's history. The magnificent palaces and homes 
that adorn the hillsides are not owned by private resi- 
dents, but are rented and controlled by city government. 
The reason for this is, that they were taxed so heavily in 

176 







Duomo Cathedral, Milan. 



133^ 



earlier days that the nobles and wealthy owners were 
obliged to turn over their property to the city for taxes. 
Burdensome taxation has blocked civilization and entailed 
poverty and distress upon multitudes in Italy. It has 
thus been made a country of great monuments, famous 
architecture, mammoth cathedrals, marvelous highways, 
ail at the expense of the people, who are compelled to a 
life of comparative ignorance and poverty by undemo- 
cratic or aristocratic ideas of government and religious 
control. People are tenants rather than possessors. 
Taxes are levied to keep up the army and navy. Beggars 
and peasants are multiplied and chained to ignorance and 
povert}' as culprits were bound to soldier guards. 

After passing forty-four tunnels, one of which is five 
miles long, we reach Milan.. This is one of the best built 
and most intelligent cities in all Italy. No finer type of 
Italians can be found anywhere, not even in Rome. They 
are scholarly, well dressed, modern and enterprising. 
There are few signs of poverty or ignorance such as we 
find in most other cities, especially in middle and south- 
ern Italy. It is a paradise for tourists. Here we will 
have time to study the outside and inside of the Duomo 
or White Cathedral, and the famous "Last Supper" by 
Leonardo da Vinci. The Duomo is the most ideally 
Gothic structure to be found in Europe, unless perchance, 
we except the cathedral at Cologne. It is five hundred 
feet long, two hundred fifty feet wide and one hundred 
fifty-five feet high. It was destroyed by Attila 452 A. D. ; 
again by Frederick Barbarossa in 1162, but was rebuilt 
in 1386 by Visconti. Within are fifty -two pillars. Here 
are the statues of the apostles, among them the noted 
statue of the "Skinned Bartholomew" and the "Martyred 

177 



Nathanael." The rose-colored windows, one with ninety- 
eight scenes in the Hfe of Christ, and another with as 
many from the Old Testament, are marvels of beauty and 
require days for study and interpretation. The cathedral 
itself is cold and dismal and has many chapels. It is un- 
inviting though very majestic. Tourists will take pleasure 
in climbing four hundred ninety-five steps to the pinnacle 
of the church and walking about the tower, where they 
will obtain an ineffaceable view of the city, the surround- 
ing country and the distant Alps. A visit to this cathedral 
and city makes such an overwhelming impression upon 
the traveler's mind as will forever silence any regrets for 
having come across the sea, even though he should have 
seen nothing but the view from the tower of the Duomo. 

The Victor Emanuel archway, the church of Saint 
Ambrose where he is said to have baptized Saint Augus- 
tine, the tomb of Saint Ambrose, the fine ancient wood 
carvings and crypt of the eminent Bishop Basil and the 
original "Last Supper" are strong inducements to visit 
this city. The new family cemetery of Milan is said to 
be the most beautiful of modern cemeteries in all Italy. 
Surely it is a tribute to the Christian faith concerning the 
dead, as well as to monumental art which finds its origin 
and inspiration in the faithful and sometimes foolish af- 
fection of the human heart. 

Leaving Milan at 8 A. M., June 4th, we are fortunate 
in securing excellent quarters in a "non fumare" (no 
smoking) compartment. This ride along the lakes and 
through the tunnels of northern Italy on an ideal June 
day with pleasing company, good health and clear vision, 
is about the acme of a traveler's delight. Near Milan 
are mulberry orchards with silk culture ; rice fields also 

178 



abound. The meadows with new mown hay, the women 
harvesters, the good roads with stone guards along the 
way and perfect gates at all grade crossings furnish a 
picture of the industry and life of northern Italy most 
pleasing to the stranger. Tunnels, by contrast, insure the 
finest views and provide short and safe passage; thus it 
is that sorrow often leads through tunnels of suffering 
that we may have a better understanding of God and 
duty. 



179 



XIX. 

THROUGH ALPINE MOUNTAINS 
AND DOWN THE RHINE 

THE engineers of Europe seem to have built for 
safety and eternity. They cut through the moun- 
tains rather than round the curves. We have 
now passed by rail through two hundred fifty-three tun- 
nels. The greatest of these and the longest in the 
world, is the Simplon which is twelve miles long and 
unites Italy with Switzerland and does away with the 
forty miles' drive over mountain roads, reducing the 
time from ten hours to thirty minutes. We take our 
noonday lunch in the diner, three thousand feet under 
ground as we pass through this tunnel. Modern science 
and enterprise have introduced electric engines and 
guaranteed both the comfort and safety of travelers. 
Again we observe as we shall see throughout Europe, 
how speed is sacrificed to safety, a good lesson for Ameri- 
cans to learn from their European neighbors. 

As we journey from Italy to Switzerland, I am re- 
minded that nature is more wonderful that art. The Alps 
are more startling than the statues of Rome or Florence ; 
and tourists love the lakes and valleys more, for Switzer- 
land is crowded with hotels filled with people from 
England and America. Someone has said that the modern 

1 80 



rush of tourists has enervated the Swiss life, making it 
easier to serve the seeker of health and pleasure than to 
till the soil or carve the wood. There remain however, 
many opportunities of admiring the Swiss handicraft 
and homely customs of the rural and village peasants. 
Nature and mountains have made them devout, loyal and 
industrious, if not great and heroic. One must admire 
this little country with its ancient methods, snowy 
mountain peaks, rippling streams, dashing fountains and 
last, but not least, its clean streets and inviting beds. 
This people are hospitable and know how to take care 
of strangers and you need not be scared at their prices, 
as in some countries where travelers abound. 

You have not seen Europe unless you have come in 
contact with the mountain scenery of Switzerland. Its 
railway travel views are superb beyond all others. The 
great abrupt heights of towering peaks covered with 
snow, the picturesque Swiss plains and the serpentine 
streams lined with grassy carpet a thousand feet below 
our train, the surprise glimpses caused by darting in and 
out of short tunnels, form a moving picture show which 
cannot be reproduced on canvas. 

Railroading in Europe is invited and made easier by 
their ticket system by which, in Switzerland, Belgium and 
elsewhere, one can purchase for a few dollars, a railroad 
ticket on which you may ride for thirty days, day and 
night, stopping when and where you will. 

The old church spires with their peals of from five 
to seven bells, the native costumes of mountain and valley, 
the water-falls that defy description as they gush from the 
mountain sides down the dizzy heights, the varied forests 
and glaciers, the changing flocks and simple pedestrians 

i8i 



or field workers, can only be seen by long railway or 
tramway journeys ; and these are part of the luxuries 
which draw tourists and refresh the soul of one who 
loves nature and folks. 

A fortunate hotel rest in Interlaken compels a thank- 
ful spirit. You must admire and enjoy the clean, homely, 
simple comforts which come to you by the way of the 
downy pillow, the polite waiters, the restful atmosphere 
and the abundant supply of wholesome food. The shop 
displays bewilder and entertain you ; while the lurid twi- 
light glow of Jungfrau will comfort and inspire your 
soul as you sit by the waters of the quiet, restful and 
glorious Interlaken. No wonder it is a village of hotels ! 
Nature has invited the people and the Swiss hospitality 
and industry confirm the call to this, one of the most 
peaceful and unique summer resorts of the whole world. 

If you have ever toured Europe you have been mis- 
guided if you have not taken at least one trip in summer 
up the Alps above the snow line. Come with me as we 
take the train from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen. The 
sun is bright, the air is a tonic. On the way we pass the 
mountain steeps on either side of the railroad. The 
waters rush down the gorge towards lakes Brientz and 
Tuhn. The cliffs rise perpendicularly to such dizzy 
heights as to test your vision and to strain your muscles. 
Now and then the water dashes in great streams near your 
car window. The pines cling to the rocks beneath them, 
rising to kiss the skies. ^After twelve miles by train, we 
leave the station and wander through a village and up the 
great foothill till we get a close sight of Staubbach Falls 
pouring in limpid stream, from its lofty source, which the 
wind turns to "water dust." This is why it is called 

182 



"Dust Stream." The sparkling spray drops nine hundred 
eighty feet, the greatest height of any water fall near 
human dwelling. After visiting with the shopkeepers 
along the village road, we ascend the stairway up the 
rock behind the spray. We gaze at the mountains beyond 
the valley for a background and take a kodak shot 
of Jungfrau and other mountains in the distance. 

But we have just started on our day's trip. We 
hasten to take a cog-vv^heel electric tramway and cross the 
narrow valley. Up the incline our engine slowly creeps. 
The village disappears ; that is, the people grow too small 
'to distinguish, and the houses become toys in the deepen- 
ing valley. Passing tunnels and water sprays, we study 
the Swiss cottage bungalows and cow shelters on the 
mountain sides ; for far up to the edge of the pine tree 
belt, the Alpine herdsmen dwell and watch their flocks 
and, morning and evening, carry their milk to the villages 
far below. 

Now we stop at the village of Wendern, a hotel town 
four thousand three hundred feet up the mountain side. 
We ascend in steady turns of our great electric engine 
to Wendernach, a still loftier station, and then, a thous- 
and feet higher till we have passed the last tree and find 
snow in the gorges and ravines on either side of the 
track. Scheidegg is our noon station. We have been 
wisely advised to bring our heavy wraps, and well enough ; 
for it is winter here. The snow rises in drifts to the 
height of our car roof. Great snow banks hang above 
our hotel. Our party enjoy a snow-ball game and take 
each other's pictures in the snow. After lunch we enter 
another tramway that bores its way through snow drifts 
up six thousand feet higher than Scheidegg, which itself 

183 



is six thousand seven hundred seventy feet above sea 
level. At this point, Jungfrau the pride of Switzerland, 
is almost touched in her forehead, and will be a year later 
when a "lift" is built to her very crest. A few of our 
party must venture on a glacier with an old mountain 
guide. Never mind the danger and wet feet; the snow 
must be waded, the crevasses crossed. But hark ! it is 
thunder! the lightnings flash, the clouds gather, a storm 
is on. It is snowing till the sky is black. We must 
hasten to shelter. About the hotel the dogs are hitched 
to a sled and the adventurers return to find the cars 
covered with snow which later turns to rain. 

The excursionists, after warming and drying them- 
selves, Vv^rap up in blankets furnished by the tramcar 
company, and ride down the other and east side of the 
mountain toward Grudenwald and the valley of Inter- 
laken. It is snowing hard and later it rains in icy drops. 
We pass again through snowdrifts and reach out for 
handfuls of snow in midsummer. We have been to the 
height of Eigergleschen, have seen the glacier face to face, 
and now watch the mountain climbers coming down the 
pedestrians' path through rain and snow; but they are 
full of glee and mingle their shouts with the Alpine 
hunters and herdsmen eight thousand feet toward the 
sky. 

It is a long slow run to the valley ; but the blending 
of the mountain scenery with the glory of the setting sun 
forms a picture which outdoes any description of artist 
or poet. Be patient. It has rained all afternoon, but the 
dust is on the street by our hotel when we return. The 
setting sun may yet throw its ruddy glow as with a 
painter's great pencil, upon the brow of Jungfrau as you 

184 




Bernese Oberland Mountains, Switzerland. 




Staubbach Fountain and Mountains near Interlaken, Switzerland. 




Mountain View, Interlaken, Switzerland. 




Group of Tourists in Snow at Scheidegg June 5. 



sit in the village and gaze toward the famed mountain 
peak you visited in the early day. Twilight in Switzer- 
land at this season, reaches to 9 P. M. and later. Nature's 
sun-pictures of snow and mountain crag are so over- 
whelmingly grand that the delighted traveler drops his 
pen in description, and only longs to witness such sights 
again and again. 

The season is cold and rainy, for this country, but a 
boat trip on Brientz Lake to the upper end, past beautiful 
falls with hotels scattered along the shore is not without 
comfort and pleasure. A quick transfer of baggage by 
the gentlemen of the party brings our stuff and crowd 
into comfortable compartments where we rest till we 
reach Lucerne by the way of Brunig Pass. This route 
overlooks beautiful Swiss valleys far down in the meadow, 
checkered with cottages, white church spires and cozy 
villages that seem like distant nests of goose-eggs. On 
either side the rugged snow-capped mountains, pine 
forests, cliffs and gorges, water streams and pastures, 
continually engage our vision and stimulate our thought. 
As is the custom on European railroads, tickets are not 
lifted till the end of the journey ; and we are happy to 
find ourselves in Lucerne for a Sunday rest. 

A beautiful cool Sunday sunshine permits us to at- 
tend the English Church service where we find, for the 
first time in Europe, a crowded sanctuary ; and hear an 
excellent expository Gospel sermon on Isaiah, sixth 
chapter. The Swiss take great pleasure in music and 
band concerts in the park draw great Sunday crowds. 
A friend gave our party a great treat of Swiss songs by 
a male quartette. Of course every visitor to this city 
will resort to the park where is seen the famous "Lion of 

i8s 



Lucerne." This rock-carved memorial of Swiss heroism, 
by Thorwaldsen, makes the city itself famous, if not the 
whole nation, and it is an advertisement of the soldierly 
courage as well as an exhibit of the artistic skill peculiar 
to this rock-girded and devoted little country. The 
prostrate figure of the lion, thirty feet in length, lying in 
a monstrous niche hollowed out of a clifif, is seen to have 
a mortal wound. The spear has pierced his side. In his 
agony he guards the Bourbon shield and lily which he 
has defended at the cost of his life. Chiseled in the rock 
are the names of the officers of the Swiss Guard who, in 
defense of Louis XVL, gave their lives at the opening of 
the French Revolution. Also we read the eloquent in- 
scription, "To the fidelity and bravery of the Swiss." 

A half-day's ride to the upper end of Lake Lucerne, 
though taken through the rain and mist,, gives us a very 
happy view of this placid body of w^ater nestling at the 
base of the mountains. Schiller's monument and Tell's 
Chapel are indications of the faith the Swnss have in the 
story of William Tell, whom they believe to be a veritable 
hero, as Schiller has recorded. 

The peasant and home life of this romantic people 
are as interesting as the snowy peaks and limpid lakes, in 
which nature has done her best and which she has dupli- 
cated nowhere else on the eastern hemisphere. 

The reader has already discovered that I am giving 
only a skimming account of a hasty trip. Only surface 
scenes and facts can be' recorded, and this book is the ac- 
count of things which most instructed and entertained the 
writer on this tour. Having enjoyed for a brief visit the 
pure air and sweet w^ater of Switzerland, let us take a 
passing glimpse of Germany and the Rhine. 

i86 



We shall be delayed a half-hour at Basel while the 
custom officials perform their task upon our baggage ; but 
we shall be safe at Strasburg at lo 130, in time for a visit 
to the Notre Dame at 12 o'clock. We must not be a min- 
ute late if we would see the greatest clock in the world, 
which is erected in this old cathedral. At 12 125 by our 
time, one hundred fifty people are gathered in front of 
the clock. At the exact signal of 12:30, the door of the 
clock opens and its full parade performance begins. An 
angel strikes the first quarter, another turns his hour 
glass, while the old man is seen to strike the last quarter. 
Childhood, youth, manhood and old age take part as the 
apostles pass before their Master. His hand is uplifted to 
bless them. When Peter appears, the cock flaps his 
wings and crows in good imitation of nature. The days 
of the month are shown, the eclipse is calculated and 
most complex events, historical and scientific, are ex- 
hibited ; so that the world does not wonder that the in- 
ventor, who completed the first clock, was put to death, 
lest he should sometime make another like it. They tell us 
that the builder of the first clock lived until he had spoiled 
its works so it would not strike after his death. After 
seeing this wonder clock, we have interpretation of the 
fact that the cock is found on so many cathedral steeples 
throughout Europe. It is a reminder of the weakness of 
human nature and the peril of denying one's Lord. It is 
an interesting fact that the original Strasburg clock was 
completed in 1354 A. D. by an unknown artist. This was 
a remarkable piece of workmanship at that day and was 
called the "clock of the three sages." It finally ceased 
running and the magistrate of the town decided to have 
another one built. The second masterpiece clock was 

187 



finished 1574 and kept running for over two hundred 
years. In 1836, the town of Strasburg caused this curious 
monument to be repaired. The old case and many of the 
pieces of the former clock are preserved in the Chapel of 
Notre Dome today. 

We have yet time before we leave the city, to see 
the statue of Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. 
It shows him at work as he lived here in the days of his 
toil and trial. The old tower of Notre Dame, four hun- 
dred sixty feet high, crowns a very fine Gothic structure 
showing a faded grandeur of architecture whose original 
magnificence was the price of the sale of indulgences in 
the middle ages. We are still more interested in the 
modern laundry where one hundred or more women in 
the canal of the river surrounding the city, are kneeling 
in boxes of straw and rubbmg on boards or rinsing outside 
the prepared boats where they work away in real German 
style ; for women work in Germany in field and shop. 
The men are soldiering or otherwise engaged, as it seems 
to the casual traveler. 

We are soon on the train by which we arrive at "Bin- 
gen on the Rhine." Homes, parks and military drill fields 
of Germany are rapidly passed on the way. The houses 
and methods of farming, as well as the costumes, are in 
striking contrast to those of Switzerland. Every yard of 
soil seems to be utilized. There is no waste of material or> 
opportunity. Economy and industry prevail everywhere. 
In these respects a foreigner is obliged to admit that 
"Germany is great." 

After a good night's rest at Bingen, we will enjoy 
"Market day" on the streets of this famous village. Early 
in the day women are seen in great processions, carrying 

188 




Ledge of Lurlie on Rhine. 




Castle Port and Grape Vineyard on Rhine. 




Women in Market at Bingen on the Rhine. 




Castle Scene on the Rhine. 



loads of produce on their heads. The market is crowded 
with typical salespeople, produce and purchasers. We 
feel like typical tourists and make ourselves at home, 
taking a snap-shot of strange sights, including one of a 
Zeppelin airship which passed over our hotel while we 
were waiting for the boat to carry us down the Rhine. 
Of course we have little time to read Caroline Norton's 
poem which is used by the hotel men and citizens as an 
advertisement of their town. 

The boat is at hand and we are resting our minds and 
eyes on the beautiful terraced grape fields on either side 
o'f the river. We pass the towers and historic monuments 
along this river which is connected up with the books of 
romance and history by most confusing and entertaining 
stories. The old castle and ruins, Mouse Tower, the 
Geyser Island, high bluffs and winding landscapes, 
are left behind us. We become thirsty and long for 
lunch and a drink of water, but water is ten pfennings 
a glass ; milk is higher still ; the principal drinks are wine 
and beer. These, our German companions in travel pre- 
fer to all the temperance beverages on which Americans 
dote. 

Cologne is at last reached by water, and "Cologne 
water" is sold at a fine price and there are infinite varie- 
ties, all of them said to be genuine. The chief attraction 
is the great Cologne Cathedral, which many regard as the 
finest spire and belfry of the Gothic, yet seen in all our 
trip. 




XX. 
HOLLAND AND BELGIUM 

OTTERDAM is our headquarters while in Hol- 
land. June nth, we take train for Amsterdam, 
fifty-two miles northeast. For the first time, and 
the last, in all our three-months' journey, we missed the 
train just one minute. To one who has just landed in 
Holland there is enough to see during an hour's wait, 
even at a railroad station. It seems only a few minutes 
till we catch a through train which hurries us past beds 
of flowers, tulips, lilies, etc., for which Holland is so 
noted. Three features of country life make Holland 
famous and attractive : they are its windmills, canals and 
flower beds. Small herds of handsome Holstein milch 
cows decorate the green fields that are fenced by ditches 
wide enough and deep enough to prevent crossing except 
where bridges span the water. The country looks like a 
flat, floating and bisected meadow. No land has been more 
faithfully portrayed by the artist. Its herds, its wind- 
mills, its dogs, its costumes, make is a good subject for 
the artist and a unique attraction to tourists.. 

The Holland of today is below the sea level and is 
protected by its strong dikes everywhere. Much of the land 
used for grazing and farming is redeemed from the sea. 
We are told that eight thousand more square miles of 
Zuyder Zee will be reclaimed when the government car- 

190 



ries forward her plans. The whole country is checkered 
by canals. Amsterdam is called "the vulgar Venice." 
Everybody is at work, especially the women who, as in 
German countries, share heavy burdens of toil. Dogs 
are harnessed to all sorts of carts. Modern invention is 
gradually doing away with many earlier customs as well 
as costumes. A few of the unique dresses of men and 
women are yet to be seen on the streets, although a trip 
to Marken is necessary to witness the wooden shoes, 
striped gowns and baggy trousers the Dutch used to wear. 

The Hollanders are very exclusive and unique. Their 
language, money and habits impress strangers as those of 
an independent folk. The life and quiet monotonous 
atmosphere should commend their land as a location for 
rest-cure sanitariums. Their industry and cleanli- 
ness are very conspicuous : they are enemies of dirt. 
Even the rural stables, though included within the same 
roof as the residence, are often as clean and sweet as a 
parlor. We found one cheese stable carpeted. They use 
water less for drinking than for scrubbing ; and when 
not drinking, they seem to be smoking. Women work at 
everything in Holland, from making bread and cheese to 
drawing carts and blacking shoes for English tourists. 
There are few loafers. They are sturdy, stout and have 
a reputation for being both peaceable and progressive. 
The one national machine to which they cling is the Dutch 
windmill, hundreds of which may be seen across the 
plains. These work pumps, grain-mills, saw-mills, and 
furnish power for a hundred purposes of manufacture. 
A man's wealth in Holland is sometimes estimated by the 
number of windmills he owns. 

The educational system of Holland is very much 
191 



superior to that of her Catholic neighbor, Belgium. Her 
religion is Protestant, but quite phelgmatic and cere- 
monial. Her art treasures show signs of an original type 
of genius. The art of Amsterdam as seen in Ryk's 
museum will linger in the mind of the first visitor, along 
with that of Florence and Venice, though it is less pre- 
tentious. Bold colors and striking fidelity to national life 
and history appear in all paintings of Rembrandt and of 
less famous artists. We are immensely entertained by 
Rembrandt's "Night Watch," one of the most famous 
paintings of the country. The ruling feature of art in 
Holland galleries is the faithful depicting of home and 
rural life and historic scenes of their own country. The 
realistic, not the fanciful, prevails. While we study the 
paintings of this museum, two young groomsmen with 
their brides, in typical Holland costume of peasant type, 
stride through the halls and prove more striking and 
distracting than anything upon the walls. Their high 
colors, butterfly head-gear, heavy skirts and stunning 
features confirm the statement above made, that nature is 
more entertaining than art, though art may seek to re- 
produce real scenes of life. 

In the same city may be seen alongside small street 
shops, the rarest diamond cutting house in the world. 
Here the art of cutting diamonds is shown in all its at- 
tractiveness and the finest gems are prepared to adorn the 
crowns of European royalty. 

He who visits Amsterdam will want to take a boat 
ride to Zaandam where Peter the Great is said to have 
resided in an old house for three months incognito as a 
worker in ship building. Ships are still built here. The 
old house twelve by thirty feet, with its tile roof and ten- 

192 




Along the Rhine, ApoUinaris. 




Boating on Canal, Amsterdam. 



inch sideboards, its end window, its sitting-room and 
bedroom six by four feet, is an idol with the people, and is 
kept up at the expense of the Czar of Russia. A tablet 
inscription within this old cabin is said to have been pre- 
sented by Napoleon, or by Alexander, who was here in 
1840. It is a tribute to Peter the Great and reads as fol- 
lows : "To the great man, nothing is small." This build- 
ing has stood for nearly three hundred years. The bronze 
statue of Peter with his axe, hewing lumber for a ship 
which also appears, stands in the public street of the town. 
Of this, the natives are very proud. 

But a visit to Holland would be incomplete without 
some time spent in The Hague. It is here we find the 
rarest prison exhibit in the world which is a display of all 
the torturing devices employed in the inquisition period 
from 1300 to 1600 A. D. The identical prison cells and 
instruments of cruelty are open to the inspection of the 
public. These are in awful contrast with the exquisite 
and artistic House in the Woods where Queen Wil- 
helmina spends at least two months of every year. In 
this palace was held in 1899, the first Peace Congress, 
representing thirty-five nations. One hundred forty 
representatives were present. In this peaceful and park- 
adorned city we find also that monument of Andrew 
Carnegie, the Peace Palace, costing over a million of the 
philanthropist's American-earned money. It appeals to 
all visitors as a school house to teach rulers and kings 
how to beat their swords into plowshares and their 
spears into pruning hooks. It is a strange travesty that 
no Peace Congress has yet been held in this Palace of 
Peace ; and, that while writing these pages the 
European and world-wide war would seem to prophesy 

193 



its use as a kennel for the war dogs or as a hospital 
for wounded princes and heart-broken queens. 

Before leaving Holland, we must take a glimpse of 
the Pilgrim Church at Delft Haven where our Pilgrim 
Fathers held their last service before embarking on the 
Mayflower. The portraits of Miles Standish, John Alden 
and members of the White family, and the old pulpit 
all speak volumes for the sturdy integrity and religious 
devotion of the stock from which sprang the civilization 
of New England and Manhattan. 

Belgium is best studied from its radiating capital and 
headquarters, Brussels. This city is often called a 
"second Paris." French is much spoken here. French 
signs and customs greet us on the streets. It ranks in 
beauty and attractiveness with Paris and Vienna. It has 
superb and well-shaded boulevards : the residences are 
magnificent. Its finely constructed pavements, cleaned 
every night, its Palace of Justice, its Museum of Arts, its 
cathedrals and hotels make it easily one of the leading 
cities of the world. 

Our first study is not of the city itself, but of the 
most famous battlefield of the world, Waterloo. We 
will take a carryall, containing thirty persons, drawn by 
two horses ; then a street-car and a railroad train through 
a pleasing suburb till we reach the town of Waterloo and 
soon find ourselves at the foot of the Lion Mound. We 
ascend the two hundred twenty-six steps and view with 
mingled emotions of sadness and gratitude the fields 
where 72,000 of Napoleon's troops on June 18, 181 5, were 
defeated by Wellington's 67,000 though at the cost of 
25,000 lives. Blucher reinforced Wellington and won the 
day : the Old Guard of Napoleon was driven back and the 

194 



little general met his first great defeat. The fate of the 
European allies was sealed. England and Protestantism 
rather than French infidelity was made triumphant. What 
an awful price ! But God must seal His power in blood 
and make His voice heard against the pride and dictation 
of the Little Giant who, in the early nineteenth century, 
exalted himself above all militant forces, even above 
Deity himself. The painted panorama of Waterloo 
Battle near-by adds interest to the locality and gives an 
impressive though unsatisfactory view as gathered by the 
artist. Besides the heroes' mound at Waterloo crowned 
by the massive lion, there are other monuments. One 
constructed by the English and Dutch bears this inscrip- 
tion, "To the memory of their companions in arms who 
gloriously fell on the memorable i8th day of June 1815, 
this monument is erected by the officers of the King's 
German Legion." Nearly a mile distant the French have 
a monument to their fallen braves, where is seen, without 
words, a statue of a wounded eagle, signifying the de- 
feated Napoleon. 

During the few months since our visit to Waterloo, 
Belgium has become one great battlefield and ruin. Its 
cities have been captured, its people impoverished and the 
whole country subjected to the conquering foe and lies 
prostrate in the agonizing throes of an unpardonable 
war. A chai acteristic of the Belgium people was ob- 
served while we took our lunch at a hotel near Waterloo, 
where those who refused wine with meals were charged 
twenty-five centimes each as an inducement or constraint 
to drink wine. Such is Europe, especially Brussels, the 
greatest drinking city we have yet met. It is remarkable 
how fully the people, of the city particularly, give them- 

19s 



selves, men, women and children, to wine drinking. 

Belgium is almost one great town; the people are 
herded five hundred to the square mile throughout the 
whole kingdom. The inhabitants of Belgium are com- 
posed of two distinct races, the northern provinces con- 
tain the Flemish, a sturdy race of Teutonic origin akin 
to the Dutch, whose language resembles that of Holland. 
This portion of Belgium constitutes what is known as 
Flanders, including the old cities of Ghent and Bruges. 
In southern Belgium, which is a factory and agricultural 
region, are the Walloons, descendants of the Gauls. They 
are of a high-strung nervous temperament more like the 
French. Many of them speak the French language and 
the old dialect of southern France. The country at large 
is loyal to the religion of the Roman Catholics. 

A day must be spent in visiting Liege and the Grotto 
of Han. In making this, trip we will see Namur, Dinant, 
Rochefort. Our conductor carries tickets on which are 
the individual photos of his party, giving a five days' 
privilege of traveling by rail anywhere in the kingdom. 
The final station is reached and we are directed through 
a village of poorly kept cottages and stable odors till we 
reach the edge of a fine grove, an arbor of horse 
chestnuts, cross a rustic bridge and come to the entrance 
of the Lesse river under the mountain, where we explore 
this most wonderful grotto that has its counterpart in the 
Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. Part of our journey is by 
boat on the v/aters of the underground river. At last, by 
the aid of electric lights, we climb stairs and on up the 
heights through a mountainous park of stalactite and 
stalagmite formations and rocky tableland. The electric 
adornments, the echo caverns, the rumble of the river in 

196 




Holland Windmill. 




Milk-cart with Doa: at Monnikendam. 




Market Girls at Marken, Holland. 




Holland Family, Marken. 



the dungeon caves and gorges, the light of the flashing 
crystals, the multitude of strange echoes and weird out- 
lines of giants, fairies, goblins, make a deep impression of 
the wonderful works of nature and the secret handiwork 
of the Creator. We have traveled today two hun- 
dred miles and have visited the coal mines and fac- 
tories, monuments and churches of Liege, so soon and 
unexpectedly to be defaced by great siege guns of their 
martial neighbor, the Kaiser of Germany. How sad to 
recall how wretched the war has made this diversified and 
resourceful country ! Beautiful shaded highways that 
were made into boulevards by double rows of shade trees 
are no longer the charm of the country. The smoking 
factories and beautiful homes, rural gardens and fields, 
bear the scars of the cyclone of war. The lofty needles 
and walls of rock remain, which rise sometimes to hun- 
dreds of feet. The quarries, then busy, are now silent. 
The green-houses which were cultivated by the acre, are 
no longer productive. I count it an almost saddening 
good fortune to have passed throughout the length and 
breadth of rural and city Belgium only a few weeks 
before the ravages of the war dogs. 

We will take another outing and visit Tournai, noted 
for its wonderful cathedral, majestic in proportions but 
somewhat faded and dilapidated. Its windows and arches, 
its pillars and pulpit, with its sounding board having in 
the ceiling the emblem of the Holy Spirit in the form of a 
dove, will not soon be forgotten. Four majestic towers 
adorn the outside. One of the organs within is playing 
to the chants of a dozen old priests who perform their 
ceremonies for conscience' sake and for the comfort of a 
few scattered women worshipers. Strangers seem to 

197 



annoy them and we pass out to view the city tower which 
is a beauty of architecture, surpassed only by a larger and 
similar one in Ghent. 

We visit Ghent, where we find a modern railroad 
station which rivals some of our best stations in America. 
The city hall, cathedral and the tower are all places of 
interest. Our conductor wisely insists that we visit the 
Beguinage where seven hundred nuns live, worship and 
ply their tasks. Their church is unlike any we know. 
It is seated with stools and chairs very much as an Ameri- 
can Sunday School room. Twice a day these sisters meet 
for worship and meditation, for study and prayer. They 
live two or more in a home or stall, one of which we enter 
and find the inmates kind and ready to sell postal cards, 
candy, pamphlets, etc. They have not renounced mar- 
riage and may return or withdraw from the hermitage 
at will. This institution was intended as a shelter and 
boarding place for girls unprotected, possibly disap- 
pointed. Here they can live and die in ease and seclu- 
sion, doing limited works of charity when demanded. 
It is one of the few such communities found in the 
Netherlands. 

I here deserted my party and returned alone to Brus- 
sels. Thrust out upon a perfectly strange language with 
no one to interpret, I am fortunate to fall in with a com- 
mercial Hollander who has adopted Brussels as his busi- 
ness center, can speak English, knows the country, the 
schools, the religions and has no reason for telling any- 
thig but the truth to an American, who welcomes his 
kindness. I observe with interest the great wheel carts 
with front wheels half the diameter and one-fourth the 
size of the back ones. My native traveling companion 



tells me that there is a great difference between the Hol- 
lander and the Belgian as there is a great contrast in their 
school systems, their business acumen and their social 
habits. The Belgian king, supported by the people, is 
progressive beyond the average of countries where the 
Roman Catholic religion and schools abound. They are 
seeking to transform their native country into a veritable 
park. Alas that the ravages of war should blast the hopes 
and labors of a whole generation in a few sad months of 
havoc and ruin ! 

He who visits Ghent will also wish to view Antwerp 
- and its magnificent harbor and superb quays, once the 
pride of Napoleon I. A busy city today, it is but a hint 
of what its commerce was in the i6th century. Then, two 
thousand five hundred ships could find shelter in its har- 
bor; no city in Christendom could equal Antwerp in 
wealth ; her massive warehouses were the deposits of 
precious wares from every land ; her cathedrals, palaces 
and works of art made her a marvel of cities. But the 
Spaniard sacked Antwerp and burned millions of dollars' 
worth of property and reduced five hundred marble resi- 
dences to blackened ruins. Shall history repeat itself ? 
Read the records of the war which began in July 1914. 
Ask the fleeing refugees and count the ruins that follow 
the German siege of Antwerp when king and soldiers are 
driven from the realm, and the sea-port pride of Belgium 
is degraded by the overwhelming superiority of German 
guns and soldiers. 

Thanks that Brussels is spared such degradation and 
destruction. No one will tarry long in Brussels without a 
visit to the Cathedral of Saint Gudule. Its magnificent 
windows are an art gallery. Its great altar is a museum. 

199 



We must not sit with our backs to the altar even to rest 
and admire the architecture of this cathedral, lest a rebuke 
come from the keeper of this great hall. Note the great 
pillars, the beautiful illuminated image of the virgin, that 
the light is shining from the rear in long distance reveals 
in rarest brilliancy and beauty. The costly black linden 
wood pulpit is symbolically carved to exhibit the angel 
expelling with drawn sword, Adam and Eve from the 
garden ; also the figures of beasts representing the lower 
passions, which are being driven out by the presence of 
Mary. 

We will cross the flower market, view the city hall 
with its four rows of gabled windows and numerous 
Scripture images outside. We will admire the Guild 
House across the square, once used in the middle ages 
for tradesmen and called the House of the King, but now 
used as flat residences and clubs. But the building of 
buildings in this "second Paris" of Europe is the palace of 
Justice, covering 27,000 square feet and costing $10,000,- 
000. It is simply the national courthouse, but is a work 
of architecture and art, and a museum in itself. Here are 
revealed the loftiest conceptions of ancient justice as seen 
in historic paintings and in the statues of Demosthenes 
and Lycurgus. 

The shops and boulevards of Brussels are veritable 
galleries of art, an Eden of pleasurable resort. As notice- 
able. as some of their finest buildings are their ridiculous 
efforts to attract the English tourists. Witness this sign 
which we note as we are leaving the city : "Keepsake at 
scheep price." Having seen the child of Paris, we must 
hasten to Paris itself. A fast train awaits us and a de- 
lightful afternoon gives us a view of rural Belgium and 
France, the country of vines, fashion, art and progress. 

200 




Royal Palace, Brussels, with Children in front. 




Lion Mound, Waterloo, Belgium. 



XXI. 

PARIS THE FASHIONABLE 

A FEW days in Paris leaves a foreigner incompe- 
tent fully, or perhaps fairly, to judge its people. 
An impartial tourist can only give his personal 
impressions growing out of his own observations of the 
city in contrast with other places. Henry van Dyke in 
"America for Me" says that "Paris is a woman's city with 
flowers in her hair." Strange would it be if, in this city 
where the modes are made which dominate the world, 
woman should not figure in great prominence. Nor is 
she always of the Joan of Arc and Madam Curry type. 
It would be better for Paris if it were so. 

One is first struck with this fashion center as a city 
of shops and business life. Much of the shop display has 
reference to the feminine taste. Jewelry stores seem to 
predominate. In a very small and obscure shop I noticed 
one article alone exhibited in the window, which I could 
not buy for the simple reason that I had not at hand 
400,000 francs or $80,000 ; and this was only one of many 
such bargains appealing to the street multitudes. Paris is 
an intensely commercial city and has few scruples as to 
moral questions. Pictures and articles are exposed for sale 
which could not be sold publicly in any American city. 
Play houses are open which would be closed by the worst 
police force I have yet heard of in my native land. Men 

201 



and women of the finest physical type crowd the streets. 

The low moral tone of the city has been traced by 
some to the Voltaire infidelity that has impressed itself 
upon the nation. There is a general revolt against the 
Church, including the Pope, which is felt everywhere. 
Upon their monuments and in their cemeteries is found 
very scant reference to religious faith or the future life. 
This is in striking contrast to Italy where religion has 
long had sway to the advantage of the moral atmosphere. 
If the exhibit of nude art so marked in Paris, has con- 
tributed to lofty morals, we have not yet been able to 
discern the evidences of such results. In our visit to the 
leading cemetery of Paris, we find the tomb of Abelard 
and Heloise bearing the story of love and life on the 
monument; but few tokens of Christian faith or fear 
mark the tombstones. Death is a matter of fact; and 
submission to it is philosophic. There is little emotion 
depicted or sentiments of hope expressed on any of the 
tom.bstones. Even many of the corpses hold a limited 
lease of from two to thirty years. Some have a perpetu- 
ity of occupancy, but we saw others being dug up because 
their time lease had expired. It is refreshing to discover 
in one of the parks a monument to Lafayette which reads 
as follows : "Erected by school children of the United 
States in grateful memory of Lafayette, statesman 
soldier, patriot." This shaft was placed as a tribute by 
the Daughters of the American Revolution to the fellow 
soldier of Washington, a patriot of two countries. 

Paris is famous for fine art and science as well as 
for its wine and women. The Louvre and Luxembourg 
Galleries contain many of the most famous masterpieces 
of painting and sculpture to be found in the world. Here, 

202 



as in no other city, we find a multitude of American and 
European artists engaged in various rooms copying such 
paintings as Millet's "Angelus," "The Gleaners," 
Raphael's "Madonna," Leonardo da Vinci's "Mary and 
Elizabeth," Bonheur's "Plowing with Oxen" and other 
rare treasures. The "Mona Lisa" portrait which was 
stolen in recent months by an Italian employee, has been 
returned to its place on the wall of the Louvre and is 
more popular than ever. Some of these paintings, like 
"Delusions of the Lost" and "The Gleaners," cost $50,000 
and upwards and could not be taken from these galleries 
'at any price. Luxembourg Gallery is the noted deposit 
of marble statues ; among them, Milo's "Venus," the 
world-famed original from which copies are to be found 
in other art halls. 

It is worth while to visit the Bastile Corner where 
the former position of the prison is marked by colored 
stone in the pavement. Here the French Revolution had 
its start and a mob began to change the map of history. 
Close by is seen the "Twenty-eighth of July" monument 
on which we read the famous French motto : "Liberty, 
equity, fraternity,"said to have been written by Napoleon. 
The monument of Charlemagne, "the always victorious," 
who was crowned at Saint Peter's by Pope Leo III., 
stands near the Notre Dame Church. He is ever an 
idol of the French people though his tomb is at Aix la 
Chapelle. The Notre Dame church with its imposing 
facade portraying the Resurrection and Judgment, its 
artistic windows, its unfinished towers and its eleven 
various charity boxes for donations from visitors and 
worshipers, is said to be the pride of Paris. But the 
Pantheon, with its bronze statue in front and its paint- 

203 



ings within is more worthy a visit and a more interesting 
study. The worshipful and sainted Genevieve, the patron 
saint of France, appears in many paintings. Joan of Arc 
also is immortalized in four scenes representing respect- 
ively her call, her triumph before Orleans, her crowning 
by the king, and her burning at the stake. 

We must content ourselves with only an afternoon 
visit to the suburbs of Paris where Louis XIV. built "for 
the glory of France" — that is, for himself — the royal 
palace and gardens which attract the whole world. As a 
residence of royalty, Versailles is connected only with 
Louis XIV. and his successors. As a national museum it 
contains the entire history of France ; and with canvas, 
marble and bronze, immortalizes her great sovereigns, 
poets, soldiers and statesmen. An easy and accurate 
translation of an inscription on one of the many monu- 
ments which Louis XIV. caused to be erected to his own 
honor is this, "The State, it is Me." Everything about 
the palace, including his dying bed and room in which 
he breathed his last, displays the egotism of the man 
who thought his kindom was immortal. The mainte- 
nance of this museum of royalty and its surroundings is 
a burden to the republic which has deprecated the idea 
of empire, but which retains an intense loyalty to the 
memory of its national heroes. Many millions of dollars 
were spent upon this wonderful palace. To walk through 
the rooms and corridors at Versailles, one must travel 
seven miles. The longest apartment is the "Gallery of 
Battles" ; the most imposing hall, the "Gallery of Mir- 
rors." The gardens and resorts adjacent to the palace 
have a world-wide fame. The fountains, avenues and 
statues are full of charm and sacred to the memory of the 

204 




Royal Palace Gardens, Versailles, Paris. 




In rear of Royal Palace Versailles, Paris. 



darkest days as well as the most romantic scenes of French 
history. 

A three million dollar regent diamond from the 
queen's crown, and the sword of Napoleon are shown, 
reminding the present generation of past glories of a 
wrecked kingdom. We must take time to look at 
Napoleon's magnificent tomb. Twenty-one years after 
his death, through England's generosity, his remains were 
brought back in great pomp from Saint Helena to repose, 
at his request, on the river Seine among the French 
people he loved. The gorgeous porphyry sarcophagus 
lies under a richly gilded and illuminated dome three 
hundred feet high and near the Hotel Des Invalides, the 
home of the veteran soldiers of France. Napoleon's 
mausoleum is more like a temple. Spotless marble lines 
the floors and walls. Four mighty piers uphold the dome. 
Directly opposite the entrance is a magnificent altar with 
an imposing canopy. From the stained glass windows in 
the roof of the dome there fall into the marble crypt and 
upon the sarcophagus beneath, beautiful rainbow hues. 
This tomb on a clear afternoon surpasses, in brilliancy, 
every other similar memorial unless it should be the Taj 
Mahal of India. It is a plaintive fact that on the right 
and left of the tomb of Napoleon are the resting places of 
Duroc and Bertrand, two of his faithful friends ; one 
falling on the battlefield beside him, the other sharing 
with him his sad captivity at Saint Helena. Beneath the 
dark green pedestal, a gigantic star is formed in the 
mosaic pavement. Around it are inscribed the names of 
the chief battlefields of Napoleon in the days of his 
triumph. 

The pride of the nation is shown by the monuments 
205 



of various states and provinces set up in the Concorda, a 
great popular park of Paris. The one devoted to the lost 
provinces of Lorraine and Alsace is draped in mourning 
under the words, "France still lives and will continue the 
same." I saw nothing else in France that more clearly- 
pointed to the readiness of the nation to take up war with 
Germany than this memorial wreath. 

An early Sunday morning walk in the Place de la 
Concorde will give a quiet sunlit view of the Gate of 
Triumph and the Champs Elysees. This is said to be the 
grandest triumphal arch ever constructed. It too, stands 
in memory of Napoleon's victories, and portrays notable 
events in Bonaparte's martial life. On this boulevard 
one may see modern France in all her busy rush, especially 
on the Sabbath afternoon. I noted sixty carriages of 
various kinds passing in a minute, or thirty-six hundred 
per hour, besides pedestrians by the hundred. 

Parisians are not a worshiping people. Sparse at- 
tention is given to religion and almost exclusive thought 
to pleasure and parade. It is a grief to notice what is al- 
lowed on the Sabbath in the vending of wares of 
all sorts. To a Protestant with a heart for worship, the 
English Wesleyan church furnishes a splendid place where 
one can hear a sermon of rare value by one of the great 
English preachers, Dr. F. W. McDonald. Pastor Wag- 
ner, author of "The Simple Life." also was heard by 
members of our party with great satisfaction. He and 
other missionaries are doing their utmost to lift up a 
standard of righteousness and pure religion in this city 
of pleasure that seems to wait and cry for a better life. 
Happy if out of the agonies of war there shall be born 
a new era of temperance, miodesty and virtue. The re- 

206 



sources of the country and the spirit of the French people 
furnish a splendid foundation for intelligent and civilized 
progress. 

The Eiffel Tower now used for a Marconi wireless 
station is still doing business with its "lift" to carry pas- 
sengers to its lofty outlook and stands as a monument 
of modern thought and expansion as well as of invention 
and competition among the nations of the world. 

Paris has been described by one writer as "the 
world, the flesh and the devil all on the ground floor." 
If this is unjust, is only expresses a popular opinion 
of the moral needs of a great mass of French people 
whom we believe are susceptible to such ministries as will 
raise the French nation above the reproach that has been 
heaped upon it in the past. 

Our program of travel compels us to leave Paris on 
Monday, June 22nd. It was a delightful railroad trip 
down the Seine to Havre. We pass through Rouen, the 
town in whose streets Joan of Arc was burned at the 
stake. Now she is honored by the whole French nation. 
We little suspect that this beautiful and romantic country, 
covered with orchards, well- worked fields and gardens of 
grain and produce, is so near the havoc of war and death. 



207 



XXII. 

LONDON THE GREAT 

THE English Channel is crossed during the night, 
and at 6 130 in the morning we land at Southhamt- 
on and are soon comfortably lodged at the Bon- 
nington Hotel in the heart of London. After wandering 
through lands requiring fifteen languages, it is a home 
comfort to reach a country where you can understand 
the sign boards and the talk of the streets. While the 
dialect of England and the face of her people are quite 
distinct from those of native Americans, you will surely 
feel that you are getting back to your own folk when you 
touch Great Britain. 

I am reminded of Dr. Johnson's statement that "he 
who is tired of London is tired of existence." London 
in June dress is surely a city to be enjoyed. It is the 
New York of Europe. Judged by its buildings, its area 
and its men, it is a city of great riches and vast power. 
It has six great centers, with a distinct type to each of 
them, and all are joined by quick transit railways both 
above and underground. The perfect asphalt pavements 
and great variety of 'their methods of transportation 
quickly impress visitors. A wise American tourist v/ho 
has traversed the globe, informs us that no city equals 
London in transportation, cheap and effective. The 
double-decked electric stage is a specialty in London 

208 




Monument in honor of King Albert. 




Victoria Monument in front of Buckingham Palace. 




Buckingham Palace, London. 




Plumed Guard near Palace, London. 



streets, and the system of speedy, careful and accommo- 
dating travel is an astonishment to those from other parts 
of the earth. The buildings are not of the sky-scraping 
order, but are substantial and well constructed. Few 
structures in London are above five or six stories high. 
Van Dyke says "London is a man's town." The study 
of men and buildings is a two- fold object of our visit to 
the British Isles. 

It is also a city of churches. Saint Paul's Church is 
the largest Protestant place of worship in the world. 
.Dingy without and black, it is gorgeous within on account 
of its pillars, arches and magnificent aisles. The recent 
finish of the ceilings and decorations have added greatly 
to its interior appearance. It looks reverent and rich ; but 
is is an abbey and almost a rival to Westminster itself. 
In the crypt below where one old keeper and janitor has 
had charge for eight years, are found the resting places 
of many of the famed dead, among whom are Henry 
Venn and Robert Lytton. The inscription in memory 
of Christopher Wren, the architect of the building, com- 
pels our attention : "Here lieth Christopher Wren, archi- 
tect. Reader, if you inquire for my monument, look 
around." The stamp of Wren's genuis and models is said 
to be found in the commercial and church architecture 
throughout London and all England. We stand with 
reverence before the tablets which mark the burial places 
of Joshua Reynolds, Benjamin West and Edward Land- 
seer, among the artists. Henry Milman, dean of the 
Church and author of the "History of the Jews and Latin 
Christianity" has also a place among the great. Not less 
honored is Sir George Williams, the founder of the 
Young Men's Christian Association. Arthur, Duke of 

209 



Wellington, who died September 14, 1852, sleeps among 
the great in this cathedral. Directly tmder the dome in 
the central palace of all is the inscription which pays 
tribute to Horatio Nelson. 

The funeral car of Wellington, hastily constructed in 
eighteen days, is a magnificent piece of workmanship. 
Only yesterday at Paris we saw the tomb of Napoleon; 
today at London, that of Wellington. These martial 
heroes of neighboring great powers rest with famed 
scientists, statesmen, clergymen and authors. Britons 
delight in cherishing the memorials of this hero as do the 
French the memory of Napoleon. What destiny was 
wrapped up in the events of Waterloo ! While I write 
the English and French fight shoulder to shoulder in 
solid loyalty against a common foe. 

Westminster Abbey may well be visited after we have 
seen Saint Paul's. A religious service is in progress and 
as we enter, the chanting of the choir blends with the 
peals of the organ. Here is the graveyard, the mausoleum 
and the monument of the great ones of English history. 
It is refreshing first to behold the statue of "Wm. E. 
Gladstone. Aged eighty-nine years." We bow low and 
tread softly as we approach the slab on the floor that 
marks the resting place of David Livingstone, the Apostle 
to Africa, who died May i, i8/'3. The atmosphere seems 
sacred as we read this inscription and quotation to his 
honor : "May heaven's^ richest blessing come down on 
everyone, American, English or Turk, who will help to 
heal this open sore." Herschel the astronomer and 
Charles Darwin the scientist lie side by side ; but no tribute 
compares with that over the rem_ains of General 
Charles George Gordon, "Who at all times gave strength 



to the weak, his substance to the poor, his sympathy to 
the suffering and his heart to God." He died at Khar- 
toom, January 26, 1885, "^ save men, women and chil- 
dren from imminent and deadly peril." The religious 
sentiment that is discovered in abbey and cemetery in 
England, as well as the appreciation of the merits and 
virtues of the departed is a marked characteristic of 
Britons in contrast with the French and Orientals. 

Westminster stands alone as a national sepulcher and 
church. Here we find also the "Throne Chair" in which 
all the English kings and queens are crowned on corona- 
tion days. Underneath and attached thereto is the stone 
which the custodian and many good authorities believe to 
be the genuine stone which Jacob used for his pillow at 
Bethel many thousand years ago. Within a few days of 
our visit a portion of the chair was destroyed by a bomb 
supposed to have been left by one of the suffragettes. This 
and similar destructive efforts throughout the city in the 
months preceding caused orders to be issued which shut 
out women from some public resorts and have concealed 
from everyone valuable sights which were open a year 
ago. The woman tourist is under suspicion as an icono- 
clast. Keepers of the British Museum insist upon a 
guarantee before the female members of our party are 
admitted through the gates. 

The British Museum is admitted to be the greatest 
in the world and is the resort of scholars and travelers 
alike ; for here are historic and Bible manuscripts and rare 
treasures in relics, ink, stone and canvas, which the world 
can ill afford to lose sight of. Only the Congressional 
Library at Washington is of greater interest to even an 
American. 



Of course we cannot leave London until we have seen 
London Tower. Here, enclosed in an iron cage and 
watched by armed guards, are the crown jewels including 
some of the finest diamonds of the world. The imitation 
of the Kohinoor, the king of all diamonds, is displayed. 
The imperial crown worn by the king at Delhi, 191 1, and 
the old scepter with a mounted dove are most interesting. 
The two largest diamonds are in the crown actually worn 
by King George in going from the Westminster Abbey 
to his palace ; one weighs three hundred nine carats, and 
the scepter diamond, five hundred sixteen carats. The 
value of these jewels of royalty is roughly estimated at 
$35,000,000. The Chapel of King John, under the same 
roof, where knighthood was instituted and which has 
stood for eight hundred thirty-six years, is still used every 
Sunday for worship. The British armor room, exhibit- 
ing coats-of-mail, swords, spears, flags and instruments 
of torture of other centuries, furnishes a strange object 
lesson. The gun carriage that carried King Edward to 
his tomb is here. The cloak of General Wolfe and the 
armor of King Henry VHL may be seen. All this armor 
is polished every week and is constantly on exhibition. 

Just outside is the court where I rested near the 
marked spot on which Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, 
Queen Catherine Howard and thirty-nine others were 
executed. We climbed the old prison tower and were 
glad to forget its gruesome history . Saint Peter's Vin- 
cula Chapel, which Macaulay says contains the "saddest 
corner of earth," is near by. In the corner of this chapel 
rest fifteen of the most famous political martyrs of 
English history. 

What a story comes to mind as we stand in the sun- 
212 




A Crowded Stage, London. 




First Barracks in Whitehall, London. 



shine and motley crowd of Trafalgar Square ! Bucking- 
ham Palace, the monuments of Queen Victoria, Lord 
Nelson and others, hold us like magnets. But the greatest 
monument of all is that erected by Victoria to the honor 
of Albert, her consort. It cost $3,750,000 and is a most 
startling and impressive group of statuary. The world- 
wide conquests of the British Empire are here revealed 
in marble and granite ; also the biography of all English 
and classic literature. Sweetest and best is the atmos- 
phere of domestic life and Christian faith shown in this 
tribute of affection of England's greatest queen for her 
husband. 

Hyde and Kensington parks combined have an area 
of six hundred thirty-eight acres ; thirty-two acres are 
used for pleasure lakes and lagoons. Numerous smaller 
parks are all open to the public. When an Englishman 
was asked how they came to have them in such fine con- 
dition, he replied, "Mow them and roll them for four 
hundred years." Hyde park itself is a monument of 
progress and English taste. Here all sorts of public 
harangues and speeches are allowed at all times. 
Preachers, reformers, socialists and cranks of every type 
assemble from Sunday to Sunday and from night to night, 
before thousands, and air their opinions unmolested. 
England is surely a broad-minded old mother who de- 
serves our admiration and esteem. 

The religious atmosphere of London is of the highest 
type. Over the facade of the royal exchange, the Bank of 
England with its dead windows and its incomparable 
treasure within, may be read the words, "The earth is 
the Lord's and' the fullness thereof." The abiding in- 
fluence of pious Queen Victoria, of Spurgeon's Taber- 

213 



nacle, and of the zealous General Booth, are felt in spite 
of the Rothschilds and the English sports. The sturdy- 
virtue of the people, in pleasing contrast with many other 
cities, and her institutions of philanthropy and missionary 
zeal, make London the Christian metropolis of the world. 

It was my privilege to pass from the matchless Lon- 
don Zoo to the City Temple where we enjoyed a noonday 
sermon of great merit and Gospel power from London's 
now most famous preacher, R. J. Campbell. Modern 
enterprises, and such attractions as Dickens' "Old Curios- 
ity Shop" unite to claim the tourist's attention in his 
jaunts about the city. 

It would be strange if a party containing a half- 
dozen Methodist ministers would take no account of City 
Road Chapel and Wesley House. We are booked to sail 
tomorrow but we must see the home where John Wesley 
studied, preached and finally died in peace. The room 
where he breathed his last seems sacred with his dying 
words, "The best of all is, God is with us." His furniture, 
his plates, teapot, candlestick, pen, books and a lock of 
his hair are scarcely less interesting than his prayer room 
where he spent hours in supplication for the whole world 
which became his parish. Here also is a bough from the 
tree under which Wesley preached his last sermon out of 
doors at Winchelsea. The clock which he used and the 
ordination papers which he signed have a special charm 
for all Wesleyan visitors. I stood in the John Wesley 
pulpit of this City Road Chapel which he built and oc- 
cupied, and studied the emblems of the Triune Deity 
carved on the front of the gallery. I sat in John Fletcher's 
chair which stands in front of the pulpit. I read the 
inscriptions on the tablets in memory of Thomas Coke,. 

214 



Adam Clark, Joseph Benson and noted the jasper columns 
contributed by various branches of Methodism. The 
memorial window in memory of Bishop Matthew Simp- 
son is another fitting adornment of this chapel. Come 
with us while we visit the grave of Wesley back of the 
church. Note the nearly consumed candle on Adam 
Clark's tomb, and the grave of Richard Watson. I 
seem to have reached the fountain head of this stream 
as I gratefully copy from her tombstone the following 
tribute to Susannah Wesley the "mother of Methodism :" 

*Tn sure and certain hope to rise 
And claim her mansion in the skies, 
A Christian here her flesh laid down, 
The cross exchanging for the crown." 

Bunhill Field's burial ground just across the street, 
contains the dust of Isaac Watts, Daniel Defoe, John 
Bunyan, and many thousands of other never-to-be-forgot- 
ten heroes of the world's thought. The army of dead in 
the heart of this great city seems to speak louder than 
the living multitude. 

Our tour is nearly ended. After brief glimpses of 
many other sights we prepare for our homeward sail 
across the sea. 

The lands of the past and those yet to come 
Can woo me no longer, I'm on my way home 



215 



XXIII. 

A QUESTION CHAPTER 

In touring Europe just before the zvar, did you ob- 
serve any latent preparation for coming conflict f 

I think we saw seeds of conflict in the friction of 
soldier elements in Egypt ; in the inexplicable movements 
of soldiers in Palestine ; in the suspicions and clash of race 
prejudice in the Balkan nations ; in the domination of 
martial pride in Germany and the keen "never- forgive- 
you" spirit of the French in their published attitude to- 
ward Germany because of being robbed of Alsace and 
Lorraine. 

What conditions in Europe furnish the ultimate cause 
of the international zvar of 19 14? 

1. Paganism. Its sediment has settled into the 
bottom of society. Morality without love ; progress with- 
out purity; philosophy without Christ. 

2. Worn-out Catholicism. A compromise blend 
of moral prohibition, degenerate Christianity, pagan 
superstition and ceremonial bigotry. 

3. Rationalism supported by regal ambition, militar- 
ism and unmissionary and anti-Christ religion. 

4. Infidelity fruiting in opposition to Church con- 
science, disrespect for moral law, and the practice of 
social liberalism and vice. 

5. Mohammedanism, a mongrel counterfeit of 
Judaism, marked by monarchial oppression, poverty, igno- 

216 




Six Ministers en Route. 




before Wesley House London. Susanna Wesley Monument. 




Elephants at Morning Bath in Zoo. 




Riding a Turtle for Fun. 



ranee, religious zeal, patronage of vice and the idolatry 
of self. It is fed by sin, must be punished with blood, 
and purged by fire. 

Name some of the superlative sights of your tour. 

The oldest city in the world, — Damascus. 

The largest city in the world, — London. 

The longest tunnel — Simplon, 12 miles through the 
Alps. 

The largest church, — St. Peter's at Rome. 

The largest pyramid, — Cheops, Cairo, covering 
eleven acres and 452 feet in height. 

The completest museum, — The British in London. 

The highest structure, — Eiffel Tower, Paris. 1000 
feet high. 

The deepest depression, — The Dead Sea. 

The biggest monument, — Emanuel IL, at Rome. 

The largest Moslem City, — Constantinople. 

The largest amphitheatre, — The Coliseum, Rome. 

The most famous volcano, — Vesuvius. 

The most notable mummy, — Rameses IL 

The most wonderful clock, — Strasburg. 

The most famous sculpture, — Venus of Milo, Louvre, 
Paris. 

The most famous battlefield, — Waterloo, Belgium. 

The largest Protestant Church, — St. Paul's, London. 

The most beautiful sarcophagus, — The Alexander in 
Constantinople. 

The largest building stones in the world, — Ruins of 
Baalbek. 

The greatest city of Bible story, — Jerusalem. 

What is the hope of Palestine f 

The breaking down and displacement of the Turkish 
217 



government; the overthrow of Moslem religion, oppres- 
sion and taxation; the introduction of education to sup- 
plant ignorance ; the return of the Jews and the fulfill- 
ment of Bible prophecy. 

Is Christianity a failure in Bible Lands? 

It is not being tried in Europe and Bible lands today 
either in ruling palaces or in democratic circles. De- 
pleted and diluted Christianity has failed. The pure 
Gospel of the New Testament is the only preventive and 
cure of this most unreasonable war of history. The 
Christian missions form the oases in the wilderness. 
Social and commercial, life and even the prevailing re- 
ligions of the Orient seemed like a desert. The mission 
houses and schools were the fruit trees, shade and water 
springs of the sun-cursed and demoralized peoples we 
were compelled to study. The missions were heaven spots 
in our journey. They give the promise of reforma- 
tion for all lands. They are the only hope. The unmis- 
sionary churches and philanthropists are threatening 
rather than redeeming factors in this generation the world 
over. 

What explanation can you find of the present barren 
condition of the once prosperous and "promised land" of 
Palestine? 

While some explain it as the result of cutting down 
the forests and vegetation, non-cultivation of the soil and 
its consequent degeneracy, the best light , comes from 
Deuteronomy 29 122-29 "So that the generation to come of 
your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger 
that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see 
the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the 
Lord hath laid upon it ; 

218 



And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and 
salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any 
grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and 
Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the Lord over- 
threw in his anger, and in his wrath : 

Even all nations shall say. Wherefore hath the Lord 
done thus unto this land ? What meaneth the heat of this 
great anger ? 

Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the 
covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made 
with them when he brought them forth out of the land of 
Egypt: 

For they went and served other gods, and worshiped 
them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not 
given unto them : 

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against this 
land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this 
book : 

And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, 
and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into 
another land, as it is this day. 

The secret things belong to the Lord our God; but 
those things which are revealed belong unto us and to 
our children forever, that we may do all the words of 
this law." 

Is the overthrow of Jerusalem and the Temple on 
the site of the Mosque of Omar traceable to a like cause f 

God is unchanging and rules the events of all genera- 
tions. Study the following passage from I Kings 9 :6-9 : 

"But if ye shall at all turn from following Me, ye 
or your children, and will not keep my commandments 

219 



and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and 
serve other gods, and worship them : 

Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I 
have given them ; and this house, which I have hallowed 
for my name, will I cast out of my sight ; and Israel shall 
be a proverb and a byword among all people : 

And at this house, which is high, every one that pas- 
seth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss ; and they 
shall say. Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, 
and to this house? 

And they shall answer, Because they forsook the 
Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of 
the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, 
and have worshiped them, and served them : therefore 
hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil." 

What is the effect of Oriental begging? 

Its first effect upon the untried tourist is to entertain, 
then to weary and possibly disgust him. Many travelers 
fall into the habit of yielding to the cry for "baksheesh" 
as an added expense of travel. But this is doubtless a 
damage to the beggars whose wits will often outwit the 
wisest. They are never satisfied with what you give them 
but ever clamor for more coin. Our party were forbidden 
by our conductor to give tips or answer appeals for 
"baksheesh" ; but a good hearted lady who made a plea 
of poverty to a persistent little boy in Baalbek was met 
with a pitiful "Then I give you baksheesh," which out of 
his savings he forthwith proceeded to do. Later on he 
came running to her with the appeal, "I give you, now 
you give me." And he won his point, much to the amuse- 
ment of the lady's companions who had heard the first 



appeal. All tips and private begging should be dis- 
couraged by tourists in the Orient. Soldier policemen are 
stationed about Cairo to protect visitors from the plague 
of beggars. They have not yet provided against the bar- 
gaining hypocrisy of street and shop venders who crowd 
the tourist's path and match his Yankee shrewdness with 
the Oriental three-priced, verbose profession of honesty 
in order to sell you useless souvenirs "very scheep !" 
"very scheep !" 

What cost does such a trip as this to Bible lands 
represent? 

$1000 to $1200. 

What are the most desirable conditions for such a 
tour? 

If possible, make the tour in the calm just before the 
outbreak of war. 

You must have average good health and just leisure 
enough to prevent hurry or loafing — good touring is work 
and recreation combined — money enough for first-class 
passage, good hotels, guides, etc. To go with a small party 
is better than to go alone or with a crowd. A competent 
conductor who knows the route, can read and speak at 
least a smattering of 15 languages, can make change with 
a dozen different kinds of money and know when he is 
cheated ; who can make quick bargains with 33 hotel keep- 
ers and twice as many ticket ofiEices, who knows the cus- 
toms and prices in all countries ; who can save your time, 
soothe your anxieties, answer your questions in your own 
tongue, and look after your baggage ; who will meet you on 
ship-board and hand you your final ticket home without 
making you feel robbed or bossed : that is the kind of a 

221 



conductor to engage if you can find him. We found him. 
Congenial companions who will enjoy the things you enjoy 
are to be devoutly wished for. The trodden paths of 
tourists are easily found. Break into your program and 
be independent to think and draw your own conclusions 
from discoveries made. Don't trust too much to guide 
books, nor yet discard them. 

Name Scripture passages which are illuminated by 
customs observed in Bible lands today. 

Ezekiel 16:4 — "Thou wast not salted at all nor 
swaddled at all." Sinful Jerusalem is corrupt because not 
"salted or swaddled" as babes to preserve them. Natives 
of Bible lands believe that a child's body unless salted 
soon after birth will become corrupt or diseased and die. 
So mothers bathe the babes in brine or wrap them 
mummy fashion, in powdered salt and oil for from seven 
to forty days. 

Luke I :63. — "He asked for a writing tablet." Native 
schools are most inferior rooms where tenets of religion 
are chiefly memorized and a smattering of reading and 
writing taught by means of memory lesons inscribed on 
thick flat board "slates" smeared with whitewash. The 
lesson is written on this board and remains till fully 
committed to memory. Sometimes messages are sent on 
these tablets from place to place. Boys only are schooled. 
I have visited such schools in Palestine and Syria. Girls 
are not worth educating-and scarcely worth naming. Only 
Christian Mission schools provide education for girls. 

Deut. 19:14. — "Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's 
landmark." The fields of Palestine are not marked off 
by fences or hedges. Corner stones are used instead. 

222 



Sometimes an unplowed strip marks the division of lands. 
No man dare tamper with his neighbor's landmark. 

Matt. 3:12 — Whose fan is in his hand, and he will 
thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor (R. V.). 

The Palestine peasant uses no modern machinery, 
but works largely with implements and methods four 
thousand years old. Oxen are tied together and tread 
out the corn" (Deut. 25 -.4). Or a heavy board is studded 
with sharp spikes, is turned face downward and dragged 
through the grain as referred to in Isaaiah 41 :i5 — "I will 
make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth." 

Matt. 6:19. — "Lay not up for yourselves treasures 
upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where 
thieves break through and steal." 

Thieving is very common in Bible countries today. 
It is done in the open field. 

When the grain is separated from the chaff, the tax 
assessor appears to claim at least one tenth of the produce. 
The same is true of the fruit of olive trees. Often the 
priest next comes in for his measure of the grain or fruit 
for the benefit of the Church. Other portions are used to 
pay back taxes or overdue debts. The balance is taken 
to their homes to be stored in mud-made bins plastered 
over at the top with bung holes at the bottom which are 
kept closed by dirty rags or rubbish. These mud-bins are 
thus easily accessible to worms and moths. Thieves can 
•easily break these treasures open. 

Matt. 6:30 — "The grass of the field which today is 
and tomorrow is cast into the oven." It is a common 
sight in the Holy Land to see women and children gather- 
ing dr};- twigs, grass and manure and loading them in 
bundles upon their heads or upon donkeys to be carried 

223 



to their homes or to market for fuel. Such fuel is kept 
in store for quick meals which are served free with ac- 
customed Oriental hospitality, to the music of the "crack- 
ling of thorns under a pot" (Eccles. 7:6). 

Isaiah 52:10. — "The Lord hath made bare His holy 
arm in the eyes of all nations." Isaiah 53 :i — "To whom 
is the arm of the Lord revealed." 

All who travel in Bible countries note the clumsy 
costumes of the people. But the loose flowing robes per- 
mit the air to get at the body in hot seasons, and the 
many folds protect from cold and serve as lounge gar- 
ments when they lie or squat on the ground or on floors of 
their homes, which means the same thing. The pointed 
long sleeves often contain pockets and when tied together 
and thrown about the neck, the whole sleeve is drawn 
above the shoulder and the arm bared for action. It is 
what we do when we "roll up our sleeves" for any task. 
It means something unusual is about to be undertaken. 
Hence, when the Lord bares His "holy arm" there is 
"something doing" of almighty qualities. 

Psalm. 23 — One will never be able to read this psalm 
of all ages with fullest appreciation till he has watched 
the herds and studied the shepherd life of Palestine and 
Syria. Lambs are the special care of the shepherds. 
They are given in payment. They must be handled, 
named, and treated almost as we guard our children in 
the Occident. The intimate relations of sheep and shep- 
herd gives everlasting glow to the words "The Lord is 
my shepherd, I shall not want." No other care, no other 
house than the one He provides will suffice. Surely His 
"goodness and mercy shall fllow me all the days of my 
life : and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 

224 



XXIV. 

OUR JOURNEY IN RHYME 

The Palestine party, Ray Allen in lead, 
Have crossed the wide ocean at Orient speed. 
Their number recorded is twenty and three ; 
Their spirits congenial, their minds are care free. 

Count Birks, Brown and Amstutz, add Morris and Frye, 
With Potts, Smith and Witham, all men of keen eye. 
Forget not Lou Monchow, our weighty "bach" brother. 
Queen Allen, first Lady, we call her our "Mother." 

Recall Madame Curtis, many years a good teacher ; 
Miss Crawford, her chum, has the semblance of preacher ; 
Mesdames Morris, Smith and Witham, with Switzer 

girls three ; 
Then Robsart and Hayes, and Miss Freeman still free. 

This party of tourists, now over the seas. 
On camel or donkey, by carriage, thro' fleas. 
Are ready for wonders, are anxious to learn 
Of places and people wherever they turn. 

The rain cannot daunt, nor strange languages thwart 
The purposes firm they hold in their heart; 
They would tread holy lands revealed in His word. 
They would freshen the story oft told of their Lord. 

See Athens with beauty and grandeur renowned. 
Acropolis Mount with wrecked glory full crowned ; 
We honor Mars Hill, Paul's footsteps retrace. 
And leave with regrets this most marvelous place. 

225 



Old Egypt and Cairo next captivate thought; 
Cheops, tombs and Sphinx by ancient hands wrought, 
Till oppressed by the mysteries hid in the sand 
We buy ourselves beads from this Nile-favored land. 

We soon enter Joppa, then Simon's roof seek. 

Find Tabitha's well, meet Latin and Greek, 

Churches sacred, mosques many, rocks, flowers and plain, 

Orange, olive and "baksheesh" again and again. 

To Zion the Great her mountains belong; 
Her water so bad, her odors so strong, 
Her Omar so grand and worshipers poor, 
Gethsemane's trees and Bethlehem's lore. 

We climb Olivet's summit and gaze toward the sea; 
And Bethany's hill where Christ loved to be ; 
We drive to the Jordan, we drink at the well. 
We pass on to Nazareth, only to tell 

Of the days spent with Jesus by Galilee's wave. 
Shall we now count our blessings He so mercifully gave? 
Shall we cherish His name who walks with us still. 
Rewarding our visit to Zion's loved hill? 

We pass to Damascus under Syria's sun. 

Where Paul made his record of service begun. 

Here Naaman had lived and Abana still flows, — 

Dogs and dirt crov/d the streets, what else no one knows. 

Moslems are thriving by shopping and prayer. 
The Harem man fusses and gives us a scare ; 
But Baalbeck restores us with wonderful sights 
Of vast pillars, with sto'nes and ancient delights. 

Beirut shows her vineyards, her mountains, her sea, 
Her silk- worms ; and schools which promise to free 
The great Turkish empire from ignorance and war, 
And turn Orient eyes again to Christ's star. 

226 



We fitly absorb all the sights we have seen 
And face towards the sunset to be sea-sick again. 
But onward "Equator," screw onward our wheel 
And make us more thankful as better we feel. 

In Constantine's city at last we arrive. 
At Kroecker hotel, where we care not to live. 
We first gather our party, the Aliens to praise. 
Lest fortune shall part us before many days. 

We now visit Sophia, the mosque unsurpassed ; 
The dervishes shock us ; the Golden Horn's crossed ; 
The Sultan and Bosporus all have been seen, 
We leave Asia and Fez caps ; good-bye, harem screen. 

The Balkans await us ; we hasten to cross 
By rail this weird country, not thinking what loss 
Confronts us — Our loved "mother" grows ill. 
Then falls at Sophia — 'Tis our Father's strange will. 

The sad news at Belgrade, and later at Rome 
Compels us to weep, though we know she's at home." 
Our leader is crushed, our party distressed ; 
But duty calls forward ; our faith gives us rest. 

Venice raptures our vision. St. Mark's stratles our 

thought ; 
We ride in gondolas, canals strangely wrought 
Into streets compel us to laud her sweet charms 
And sleep quite serenely, all free from alarms. 

Florence opens before us with galleries fine, 
All full of art gems ; they are as a vast mine. 
For Angelo's "David" we scarcely can wait — 
Cross Arno's old bridge; read the heretic's fate. 

The seven-hilled city, our old classic Rome, 
Must be seen with its treasures, and hither we come. 
The tombs and the Forum, with all their rich past, 
St. Paul's and the Vatician, St. Peter's at last. 

227 



View Aurora's bright colors, and Rome of today, 
Modern life with foundations which seem laid to stay. 
Emanuel's monument, Italia's firm hope ; 
Admire the fountains, say farewell to the Pope. 

Plow north through the tunnels, see Pisa's strange tower, 
Touch the home of Columbus ; feel the thrill of that hour ; 
Find Milan's Cathedral, so grand and so high 
That it woos up its stairway our brave brother Frye. 

The Alps now confront us by tunnel and pass. 
Their peaks, cliffs and snow-caps, enhanced by our glass ; 
We enter rough Switzerland, the goal of one brother, 
Who finds barber and pleasure as not in another. 

We climb to the glacier, we drink of the fountain, 
We play with the snow-balls, we descend the mountain 
To find Lucerne's "Lion" and sail on her lake. 
Swiss music enchants us ! How can we forsake ? 

But Strasburg and Bingen and all the fair Rhine 
Afford us such pleasure we need not the wine 
Of even our Germans, so good and so stout ; 
We buy Cologne water while traveling about. 

But Holland awaits us, soft bread and all such. 
Good cheese, cows, dogs, Heaven bless the Dutch ! 
Their women are clean ; and their men care to work ; 
Their money is queer ; ; their mills go with a jerk. 

Their fences are water, their towns are all "dammed," 
But their Hague is a jewel, their markets are jammed ; 
Smell their flowers ! These Dutch, let us hope they are 

good, 
We can never forget their "House in the Wood." 

Three days next in Belgium to see Waterloo ! 
Remember the "Palace of Justice" there too ; 
The grotto of Han with its underground river ; 
Her mines and her fruit from the bountiful Giver. 

228 



But Paris surpasses them all in the light • 
Of women, and clothes and jewels at night. 
Of course art is at par, and beauty is seen 
In fashion and paintings, in sculpture and green. 

Napoleon, their warrior, the tall Eiffel tower. 
The Louvre and the Luxembourg, all have their power 
With railways and wine to bring tourists there 
And leave many wrecked with tales of despair. 

We hasten to England to finish our tour, 
Old London, the rich, though friend of the poor, 
Her churches, her Abbey and history are great ; 
Her men and her methods are quite up-to-date. 

We honor St. Paul's built by Christopher Wren, 
Old Westminster Abbey with tombs of famed men ; 
While City Road Chapel and cemeteries near 
Recall Wesleys and Bunyan, DeFoe and Shakespeare. 

Nelson and Gladstone, and Trafalgar Square, 

The "Tower" and the "Jewels" say "There's power in the 

air." 
While the British museum and great crowded stage 
All prophecy peace and a new golden age. 

Oh, Palestine Party, 'tis blessed to know 

The Master is with us wherever we go ; 

In sunshine, in shadow, we'll acknowledge His love 

And hope we shall meet the Aliens above. 

Our mission is searching, our finding is joy ; 
We are journeying heavenward, there without alloy 
We shall answer all questions in unbroken light ; 
We shall press His sure footprints where all will be 
bright. 

Good-bye chained Orient, America's free ; 
Her flag's full of stars, and those stars shine for me. 
The lands of the past, and those yet to come 
Can woo me no longer, I'm on my way home. 

229 



ON SEA HOMEWARD 

Old ocean throbs with sighs subhme, 
Her thoughts she seems to keep. 

She watches o'er the wrecks of time 
Beneath her waves asleep. 

Her white caps speak of His command 

Who rules from sea to sea, 
Who holds the billows in his hand 

From fear to keep us free. 

When ships are driven for and near, 

'Tis He who opens ways 
For merchants and for tourists clear 

While pass the happy days. 

Far down, the silent cables bear 
The words of toil and kings. 

The wireless messages in air 

Proclaim a thousand things. 

The serpents great and fish at ease 

All have their home at sea, 
But graves of loved ones, wrecks, disease. 

Start thoughts of what might be. 

But ocean's depths and Father's love 

Mean both the same to me, 
If only His great eye above 

Shall watch o'er land and sea. 

The voice of waves declares the day 

When there shall be no sea 
And righteousness shall lead the way 

And slaves to sin be free. 
230 



Before His throne a crystal sea, 

In prophecy is blest, 
For saints thro' all eternity 

To walk and be at rest. 

With awe and faith for ocean's deep. 
And thanks for friendship's tie, 

Hope soars beyond the grave's long sleep 
To Heaven's glad home on high. 



231 



ilipiiiilii 







0:i;lt;;|'|ii;i!||!|i;j>.,. 

;.'- i!riU"vvfl:lw'!i.;.:.!!i'a 

:.h:i?!:i!'M;;!;iiiit' ;t;*fe« 



:..siiiiii 

''''''Sliiw 

■■'M«,:l;i!ji',-;t!if,ii,M5i; 

v■::;:■^l#::!^!!f:;;i4#i| 
;. :;.;:j'i';i!,'.Ml|l;,;;5:>.;.(:i" 






ill 



i:SliFii lilii 
^:i'^-|%|!iSj!iiiii 



